Extender choices

[jbrandon]

Is it true the only device that can be used as an extender is the Xbox 360?

I configured my SageTV server to aWMC PC but could find anyway to connect another PC. I've gotten use to the small foot print of the HD200/300 and do not want a "big box" setting on the mantel beside the TV.

[makryger]

There are a number of discontinued extenders out there, which you can still find on Ebay. They work well for getting your TV somewhere else, the boxes are small, but the graphics in them aren't very powerful. The DMA2100 is something you could look into.

Or, if you are willing to wait for X months, Ceton is planning on releasing a new extender, the Ceton Echo. That's supposed to be small, quiet, powerful, and awesome. Not a lot of details yet, other than the fact that it will be released during 2012, hopefully before the mayan apocalypse.

[barnabas1969]

I own and use three HP X280N extenders, and one Linksys DMA-2200. I like them. Quiet, cool, small, cheap, and work fine for my purposes. I did not want an XBox360 working as a space-heater in my bedrooms, nor did I want the noise or the "red rings of death" that is so common with XBox360.

However, when Ceton releases the "Echo" extender later this year, I'm going to jump on it. It should boot faster, support H.264 encoding, supports HDMI-CEC, Ethernet control, and other features that other extenders do not.

[adam1991]

I did not want an XBox360 working as a space-heater in my bedrooms

That's a fallacy, born in the days when XBox was a space heater. Nowadays, it's quiet and cool.

[barnabas1969]

I did not want an XBox360 working as a space-heater in my bedrooms

That's a fallacy, born in the days when XBox was a space heater. Nowadays, it's quiet and cool.

80 watts for the XBox vs. 15 watts for the X280N or DMA-2100. 80 watts is enough to warm a small bedroom after a few hours. When my son plays his PS3 for a few hours with his bedroom door closed, his room is at least 5 degrees warmer than the rest of the house.

[adam1991]

Not saying other choices can't be more efficient, but XBox nowadays is not at all what it was for those who were there with older boxes.

80 watts isn't all that much; it's just a light bulb, and that wouldn't heat a room all that much. You forget about the human element in there, also exuding heat.

[makryger]

Not saying other choices can't be more efficient, but XBox nowadays is not at all what it was for those who were there with older boxes.

80 watts isn't all that much; it's just a light bulb, and that wouldn't heat a room all that much. You forget about the human element in there, also exuding heat.

So perhaps we should replace the humans with more efficient and quieter systems too!

[barnabas1969]

Not saying other choices can't be more efficient, but XBox nowadays is not at all what it was for those who were there with older boxes.

80 watts isn't all that much; it's just a light bulb, and that wouldn't heat a room all that much. You forget about the human element in there, also exuding heat.

Another good reason to use compact fluorescent light bulbs! Less load on your air conditioning system. Where I live, we use the A/C eleven months out of the year.

[adam1991]

So perhaps we should replace the humans with more efficient and quieter systems too!

SkyNet is on the job.

[mark1234]

Another good reason to use compact fluorescent light bulbs! Less load on your air conditioning system. Where I live, we use the A/C eleven months out of the year.

I've recently replaced GU10 halogen bulbs with SMD LEDs. Wish I'd done it earlier. Halogens pop alarmingly frequently, and burn 50w each doing this. The four SMD LEDS use less leccy than one halogen and actually last longer than a couple of months! They'll pay for themselves within a year.

No need for A/C where I live. I don't even use it in the car as it sucks the life out of the engine, and the petrol out of the tank.

[barnabas1969]

I agree, Mark. It's really nice being able to go several years without having to change a light bulb. I have a CFL in my post lamp in the front yard. It's on a photo sensor. It comes on at dusk and off at dawn. It's ON about 10 hours/day. That bulb has been in the socket for 6 years and is still going strong.

[mark1234]

Unfortunately, later that same night one of those lovely LED bulbs popped. Tripped the circuit for all the lights in the house as well. Oh well, at least, unlike regular bulbs, it's got a warranty.

[werds]

I did not want an XBox360 working as a space-heater in my bedrooms

That's a fallacy, born in the days when XBox was a space heater. Nowadays, it's quiet and cool.

I know this is an old post but I wanted to just add from my perspective. I recently in November purchased an xbox 360 slim. The thing runs remarkably hot and loud compared to the HTPC that is next to it. Heck, just compared to any particular video game system I had owned before it the thing is a space heater - I could only imagine how bad the original xbox 360's were if the new slim is supposedly "cool and quiet". Maybe comparatively it is but stand alone I would not call it such.

That being said until the Echo comes the Xbox 360 works as a fairly decent extender and priced well compared to no longer supported extenders from other companies.

Just wanted to add my 2 cents - depending on perspective it is not a fallacy (in a small room the heat it puts off would be enough to change the air temperature)

[barnabas1969]

Yeah... you have to remember that a 100 watt light bulb doesn't have a heat sink and fan that efficiently transfers that heat into the air.

[STC]

[OT]

Slightly screwed perspective. Not wanting to turn this into a science experiment but tungsten filaments found in 100w traditional light bulbs reach a temperature of around 2500 degC, and emit both heat and visible light in a reaction known as incandescence.

Heat produced should not be compared with a processor using 100w and it's HSF.

[barnabas1969]

[OT]

Slightly screwed perspective. Not wanting to turn this into a science experiment but tungsten filaments found in 100w traditional light bulbs reach a temperature of around 2500 degC, and emit both heat and visible light in a reaction known as incandescence.

Heat produced should not be compared with a processor using 100w and it's HSF.

Less than 10% of the power consumed by an incandescent light bulb is converted to light. The other 90% is wasted heat.

[STC]

[OT]

Correct, but the method most of that heat escapes via is radiation.

[barnabas1969]

[OT]

Assuming that the (mostly) infrared radiation doesn't heat the nearby objects very much, I guess that means that incandescent light bulbs don't make efficient sources of light or heat.

Oddly enough, this conversation has gotten me reading about the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs. Did you know that they plan to ban them eventually (2014 in the USA)? That's got me thinking about dimmable bulbs. I tried some supposedly dimmable CFL's a while back. I couldn't get them to dim without very annoying flicker (and they cost $10.00 each). Anyone have experience with dimmable LED bulbs that screw into a standard socket?

[STC]

[OT]

Yeah they are getting there. LED's are catching up, just the problem with heat lol. I think there are good CFL ones out now, just a little too expensive as they are new tech.
I ramp up and down all my lights at various speeds and run every light at <=50% of their power. It's a much more graceful effect then just on or off.

[barnabas1969]

[OT]

If you've been following my posts, you know that I've been installing HA stuff. All but one of my lights was CFL. Most of the new switches I've installed are just relays... ON/OFF... so that works perfect for the CFL's. But the controller for the fan/light in the living room didn't have a relay option... so it has to be dimmable. Besides, it is nice to have it ramp up/down in the living room. So... the fan now has incandescent bulbs in it. I'd like to put a dimmer on the table lamps too... but I'd like to stick with something more efficient than incandescent.

I see a trip to Home Depot in my near future.