Tekno-Joy: Blue-Ray, DVR, DVD, Linux, MythTV, PC, TV, Zbox

I canceled our cable TV service, so I now I need to get on the stick and get some kind of computer setup so we can connect our TV to the Internet. We have a Roku, and it works fine for watching shows from Netflix, but it only gives you limited access to the Internet, as in limited to the channels you are willing to pay for. There might be some free channels, but I haven't found anything worth watching there. I can access the photos I have uploaded to Picasa.

I had an old Linux box that used to work fine, until it quit a few months ago. Then there is this program called MythTV that is supposed to turn your PC (Personal Computer) into a DVR (Digital Video Recorder). It's Open-Source and it's free, and I've got this old Linux box, so I thought I would give it a try. Fixing the Linux box was simple a matter of re-seating the video card. Used my Windows based PC to download the MythTV program and burn a CD (Compact Disk). Used that CD to install the MythTV program on the Linux box. The Linux box booted. Once. And then it died, dead.

Error code says the memory "module" was bad. Took the memory stick over and plugged into my old Windows PC and it works fine. We've had other problems, off and on with this motherboard. I think I'm gonna call it scrap.

But now my Windows PC is behaving weirdly. Admittedly it has good reason to act up. It has a virus. It is not a bad virus, it's just kind of annoying, but it is thoroughly entrenched and getting rid of it is going to mean reformatting the hard drive. Again. Which takes time and is annoying. Also, it's got this memory module from the flakey Linux box, and maybe it's flakey as well. And then there's the whole hard disk disappearing and reappearing trick, and who knows what's causing that. It might be time for a new computer.

So I've given up on the old Linux box and I'm looking at some kind of PC to use with the TV and I find this Zotac Zbox, which looks pretty cool, except it comes it 31 different flavors ranging in price from $200 to $600. The most expensive ones come with a Blue-Ray optical disk drive and I am wondering do I even need one?

When DVD's came out, it was pretty obvious that the picture they delivered was a whole lot better than what you got from videotape, even with the old CRT televisions. I was thinking DVD's were just fine, and that Blue-Ray is gilding the lily, but now I hear that standard DVD's only deliver 480p and my big screen TV can handle up to 750p, maybe even 1080p. (The bigger the number, the higher the resolution and the better the picture, I suppose.)  So would Blue-Ray look that much better? I thought VHS was fine when it was all I had.

So now I'm wondering what kind of resolution I am getting over the Internet, and what will it be like in the future? Is Blue-Ray really going to take over? Should I go ahead and get a Blue-Ray player now just to avoid having to look for one in the future? Also, as Blue-Ray gains momentum, manufacturers are going to be looking for more short cuts, and the life expectency of Blue-Ray players may go down. Might not make any difference though. By the time the Blue-Ray players fail, Blue-Ray may be obsolete.

On the other hand, we hardly use any DVD's at all. Most everything we watch comes via the internet. We do get some broadcast channels, but until we get a DVR, I am not even going to consider them.

Update: I wonder if there is any possible use for old optical disks. Sure, there are some music CD's you will want to hang onto forever, but we are generating a zillion useless disks everyday. They are this decade's version of a sheet of paper, use it once and throw it away. I wonder if you could build a stove that would burn them cleanly? Or maybe you could glue stacks of them together to make casters, or chop them up to make chaff for military aircraft. Gee, I'm just full of good ideas this morning.