Media Room Update: Denon 2313 and Steam Big Picture

Since my old Denon 790 decided to self combust (my fault), I decided it was time to finally finish our media room.  The TV is the excellent Panasonic ST50 which I wall mounted a while ago.  The extendable arms are a godsend when you are messing with wires and plugs highly worth it over the standard mounts.

From my Study I ran a 15 meter HDMI cable and a 15 meter USB cable which is connected to the TV.  As you can see, poking through the wall here is a powered HDMI splitter/extender which was required to eliminate Sparkle caused by loss of HDMI signal strength:

Wall plate behind ST50

Unboxing the Denon 2313.

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Shiny new Denon 2313.

Denon 2313

The new AUDYSSEY XT Calibration is even better than on the 790 model, I didn't have to tweak anything.

AUDYSSEY Calibration

The Study acts as the information hub with network cables running all through the house, during the build stage I also ran a 15 meter HDMI cable and a 15 meter USB cable (with booster) specifically for PC connectivity.  These keystone wall plates accept standard cables and can be interchanged simply by replacing the type of connection insert.

Study Plugs

And the end result is a seamless Steam Big Picture console type experience for under $50 for the wall plates and cables:

Steam Big Picture HTPC

 

Asus Transformer Prime Australian Unboxing

Just took delivery of my Champaign Transformer Prime delivered all the way from B&H in the states and I must say I am mightily impressed.  When I first got the box from the UPS courier, I couldn't believe how light it was - surely the contents were inside?

Ripping open the box revealed the tiny ASUS box and two bits of tube packing , all in good condition.

Once I Turned the Prime on and configured the Wireless network settings, it wanted to do a firmware update which took about 2 minutes and is probably the quickest booting Android device I have used.   The back of the Prime appears to be more Stainless steel at first glance, its only when it hits various light sources it gives off its subtle champaign gold tones - the camera picks up quite nicely as you can see in the pics below.  The transformer Prime is indeed a slick looking gadget.

On with the obligatory Geeky Unboxing Pics:

Transformer Prime Package has arrived!
Inside the Box
The Transformer Prime Box
Inside the Box 1
Inside the Box 2
Feature Sticker
Back Of the Champaign Transformer Prime
The Transformer Primes SD Card Slot.
Hello!
30% Charge level out of the box.
Firmware Update!
Finally, Play Time.
Transformer Wifi vs HTC Desire

Sony HX9V Unboxing: Pics and Thoughts

Recently I just bought the Sony HX9V compact camera to replace my broken Samsung and I have to say, for a compact, this thing is incredible.  When searching for a replacement the one feature that seemed to set this camera apart was the HD video mode and believe me, the 1080p 60hz video from this Sony HX9V is mindblowing and probably the biggest differential in this price range.

The HQ9X Package
The bubblewrap 🙂
The HX9V Box
Opening the Box
The Sony HX9V Box Contents
The Sony HX9V!

I also grabbed a Patriot 32 gigabyte class 10 SD card from MSY for $44.  It handles the 1080p AVC video just fine.

A class 10 32 GB SD card from MSY

Now for a video sample from this camera, I edited the following in Sony Vegas 10  as a complete noob and the results came out surprisingly good.  Silvan is not the most exciting place in the world though it gives you a good idea what the Sony HX9V is capable of:

 httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUCl-QlYui0

The following pictures were taken shortly after buying (more noob shots) most at auto or superior auto and some with background defocus: