Tutorial: Acer Revo 1600 HTPC with Boxee in HD

Over the weekend, I purchased an Acer Revo 1600 for my fiancé's parents. I figured for $150, the Revo 1600 with the Nvidia ION would make a powerful Boxee HTPC without breaking the bank. Boxee has Netflix, mkv-avi-mp4 movie playback, online streaming video, Pandora, Flickr, and more. This tutorial will be in two parts, one part for XP users, and the other for Vista/Server 2008/7 users.

Windows XP Boxee Guide

First off, if you're using your Revo 1600 with Windows XP, then you will NOT get HD decoding in Boxee. HD videos will stutter badly. You must have Vista/Server 2008/7 to get DXVA2 (Direct X Video Acceleration 2, which we'll go into in the second half of this tutorial) If you feel comfortable with installing Vista or Server 2008 or Windows 7, then I would recommend switching the OS.

Upgrade Drivers
Acer/Nvidia driver for Audio over HDMI (do not use the Nvidia.com driver because it does not work with the Revo, as of 4/27/10)
Geforce/ION LE 197.45 WHQL Graphics Driver
Nvidia ION LE Nforce 15.46 WHQL Chipset Driver 

Sign up and Install Boxee

Install Flash 10.1 Prerelease for HD Flash Playback

Sound over HDMI
Right out of the box, the Revo was almost ready to play with Boxee. The only thing I had to tweak was the sound over HDMI.

1. After installing the drivers, I had to disable the Realtek Sound adapter in Hardware Devices in System Properties. Then sound over HDMI was working and so was Dolby Digital/DTS passthrough. If you don't need sound over HDMI, then don't disable the Realtek Sound adapter. 
2. Lastly, go into Boxee > Settings > System > Audio > Select Nvidia HD Audio

Video over HDMI

By now, video should be outputting beautifully in 1080p or 720p. If you have overscan problems, right click on your desktop. Go into the Nvidia control panel. Click on HDTV. There should be an menu item to adjust overscan. Follow the on screen instructions.

Netflix

1. If you want Netflix, then open up a browser like Google Chrome/Firefox, log into your Boxee account, then click on services. Click on Netflix, and sign in. This will now link Netflix fo your Boxee account.
2. Download and install Microsoft Silverlight
3. Open up Boxee. 
4. Go to My Apps and select Netflix. 
5. Netflix will ask to install a cookie. Click Yes
6. Enjoy using Netflix on Boxee

Windows Vista/Server 2008/7 Boxee Guide

Boxee really shines in Vista/Server 2008/7. Whichever installation you choose, they all will have DXVA2, and DXVA2 is needed to accelerate HD movie playback. Instead of the CPU lagging to do the work, the Nvidia ION will now power through.

I chose Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 Standard Edition with the Windows 2008 Workstation Converter.

After installing the OS, we need to upgrade the drivers. Be sure to get the right drivers if you install a 32-bit or 64-bit OS as they are different. Video/audio/chipset drivers are all on Nvidia's website, and they work.

Upgrade Drivers

Windows 7 64-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit, Windows 2008 Server 64-bit

Geforce/ION LE 197.45 WHQL Graphics Driver
Nvidia driver for Audio over HDMI 
Nvidia ION LE Nforce 15.51 WHQL Chipset Driver 

Windows 7 32-bit, Windows Vista 32-bit, Windows 2008 Server 32-bit
Geforce/ION LE 197.45 WHQL Graphics Driver

Nvidia driver for Audio over HDMI 

Nvidia ION LE Nforce 15.51 WHQL Chipset Driver 

Sign up and Install Boxee

Install Flash 10.1 Prerelease for HD Flash Playback

After upgrading the drivers, the audio worked great in my installation. I did not need to any additional tweaking, nor did I have to disable anything. Sound over HDMI worked beautifully, and I had Dolby Digital/DTS passthrough over HDMI. If you run into problems, try changing the sound settings inside Boxee > Settings > System > Audio > Select Nvidia HD Audio

Video over HDMI

By now, video should be outputting beautifully in 1080p or 720p. If you have overscan problems, right click on your desktop. Go into the Nvidia control panel. Click on HDTV. There should be an menu item to adjust overscan. Follow the on screen instructions.

Netflix

1. If you want Netflix, then open up a browser like Google Chrome/Firefox, log into your Boxee account, then click on services. Click on Netflix, and sign in. This will now link Netflix fo your Boxee account.
2. Download and install Microsoft Silverlight
3. Open up Boxee. 
4. Go to My Apps and select Netflix. 
5. Netflix will ask to install a cookie. Click Yes
6. Enjoy using Netflix on Boxee

Final thoughts
The installation in Windows 2008 R2 x64 went smoothly. After upgrading the drivers, installing Boxee, flash and Microsoft Silverlight, we had a full blown HTPC. Thanks to the Nvidia ION, we enjoyed watching smooth playback of 1080p mkv's, YouTube HD, and Netflix instant movies. CPU utilization was under 20-30% when playing HD movies. (Pressing "i" in Boxee brings up utilization) Overall, great power in such a small box.

Now go enjoy!

DIY: Replacing a Coleman Lantern Battery

This step-by-step DIY post explains how to replace a dead battery specifically in a Coleman Twin Tube Battery Lantern, but the post can be used as a guide for other lanterns as well.

Disclaimer: proceed at your own risk, as I take no responsibility for what you do while working with electrical current. Batteries can be dangerous. Use safety precautions and common sense.

The lantern uses a 6V sealed lead acid battery charging at 7.2-7.5V, which we’ll replace with a direct fitting 5000mah 7.2V NiMH battery. Usage time will extend to ~7 hours with one 4W tube on, and will save some weight. Using a smart charger will insure a full charge and a long lasting battery when compared to the battery system prior to the modification.

Materials:
NiMH Battery Pack 7.2V 5000mAh (36Wh) for 6V Portable Devices - $36.85
Multi-Current Smart Charger ( 1-2 A ) For any Airsoft 4.8V - 10.8V NiMH / NiCd Battery Packs - $27.95
Electrical Tape - $0.50
Silver Solder - $1.25

Tools:
+ Screwdriver
Soldering Iron
Sharp object (knife, x-acto knife)





Step 1: Unscrew the bottom 3 screws to reveal the sealed acid battery pack.


Step 2: Remove the wires from the battery.


Step 3: Remove the battery from the housing. There is double sided tape holding the battery down:


Step 4: On the Coleman lantern, cut the ends of the red (+ positive wire) and the black (- negative wire).


Step 5: (In this step, on the battery, be sure not to let the exposed red wire and exposed black wire touch. In the photo, the cut was staggered to insure safety.)

a. On the battery, shave the plastic mold off of the red and black wire with a knife, but do not cut.
b. On the Coleman, expose 1cm of bare wire for the red and black wires.
c. Splice in the wire from the Coleman lantern to the battey (red to red) and (black to black).


Step 6: Solder the connections.


Step 7:
a. Wrap each solder joint individually with electrical tape. Again, we do not want the exposed wires to touch one another.
b. Then wrap around both wires.


Step 8:
a. The battery will fit directly where the old battery was positioned. There is no need for any adhesives as it’s a firm fit. Run the wire to the compartment where the old charger was stored. This is so you can recharge your unit.
b. Plug up the old AC charging plug on the Coleman lantern as you will no longer charge the unit from this plug--you can use Styrofoam to do this.


Step 9: Screw the three screws back together


Step 10: Let there be light!


Step 11: Charge after a good day’s use.
 

Free Video Download of Planet Earth Episode 1 - From Pole to Pole in HD (Amazon)

(Image from Amazon)

Stream it, or download it, and enjoy the movie in 720P HD for free from Amazon Video on Demand.
You don't need an account to view it, but you do need an account to download it in 720P w/5.1 sound. There are other titles free to view as well.

BBC Planet Earth Episode 1 720p [amazon.com]

2.30GB download. WMV files extension. Runtime 49 minutes and 16 seconds.
(No software available for Mac owners to download for now...)

There are more free movies on Amazon, but it looks like there's a unique code in the link, so I cannot directly link you there. Go to "Deals and Freebies" link on the left side of the
Amazon navigation menu [amazon.com]

Once you log into your account, there are options to download videos via Amazon's Unbox downloader, or you can connect to your Tivo. Also, the video will be yours to own in your Amazon video library.

Enjoy!

Opera Mini Browser on iPhone: Better than Sliced Bread

(image from Opera.com)

Get this app now. It's faster, different, and free. The Opera Mini Web Browser for the iPhone was released yesterday, and it's everything we have been asking for.

When we open up a page, the entire page loads, and there's a slick animation where the page slides into view--no more of that dizzying grid like in Safari. It gets even better, we now have tabbed page browsing and a multiwindowed Start Page for a visual view of our favorites. The browser has a few minor problems loading pages, where some tables and text are displayed incorrectly, but overall, it only gets better from here. The browsing experience is excellent. I like the animations

Also, the Opera Mini Browser acts as a proxy, so if you're behind a corporate firewall, at school, censored government, etc. then you may be able to access those blocked sites you always wanted to access but couldn't.

If you haven't downloaded this app yet, get going! Enjoy the web the way it was supposed to be viewed.