Smart Home Blog

If you’re owner of HTPC with Video Disk Recorder (VDR) and have enough interesting recorded media content you might use vdrtube to share it similar way as it’s done with YouTube. That VDR plug-in adopt video to display in Flash-player and build HTML structure to access it via web browser.

Plug-in allows to create themes. So, you can customize YourTube according to your desire. Also, there is a possibility to control access to your media content using Apache authorization functionality. Plug-in vdrtube is developed on Perl. It’ll be pretty easy to modify it if you don’t satisfy its work.

Actually, it’s a good possibility to share your video between relatives or friends. But personally I prefer to have plug-in which allows to watch YouTube video on TV using VDR or MythTV. But currently as I know only Windows MCE offers such feature.

If you want to save a space in TV area you might be interested to see a new NAD DVD player with integrated receiver. The NAD L54 combines a high-quality integrated stereo (playback CD, AM/FM tuner and two-channel 50-watt amplifier) with superior DVD and DivX playback. The NAD L54 features Component, Composite, and S-Video outputs and includes two digital inputs (one optical, one coaxial) to connect additional sources and optical digital output. It also has SRS 3D circuitry that emulates surround sound using only a pair of loudspeakers. All L54 features are easily accessed with the supplied learning remote, which can also operate almost any other IR remote controlled device.

The NAD L54 DVD/Receiver is already on sale with the price $699.00.

[via CePro]

American company ehômesys specializes in IP-based home entertainment systems. Its solutions allows to create both single room and multi-room system (up to 30 rooms). ehômesys systems offers PVR functionality, play-back DVDs, watching LiveTV (full HDTV), browsing photo galleries, internet surfing. Additionally, they allow to control light and climate and connect security system. So, ehômesys doesn’t offer just music play (if I’m not wrong).

ehômesys offers commercial systems. So, there is no any words about using OS and hardware. But I’d be very interested in to get more details about it.

A video tells a thousand words:

SysMaster used embedded Linux to create a four-line IP video phone with built-in PBX and audio/video playback capabilities. Tornado M20 appears to be based on a very similar hardware platform with M10 – STB with amazing features and functionality. The M20 connects to local networks via wired or WiFi interfaces. it supports standard SIP-based VoIP registrars, proxies, or outbound proxy servers.

For comfort work with M20 it sports 3.5-inch color LCD display, along with a telephone keypad and handset. It can be connected to the TV via analog RCA video and stereo audio ports.

The M20 is already available with a suggested retail price of $260.