bye
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Originally Posted by tony123 /t/1323919/the-timelapse-theatre-planning-n-build-log/1050#post_22606470
Enjoyed the video Mr. D! One of these days my schedule will free up and I plan to see it in person!
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Originally Posted by jdanforth /t/1323919/the-timelapse-theatre-planning-n-build-log/1050#post_22607932
I have been thinking a lot about my sound treatments lately. I have a big, long wall on the left of the room and I wanted to put something large that made a statement up there while still being fuctional.
My wife and I saw this reproduction of an awesome map of London in Restoration Hardware on Sunday.
They're selling the thing for $1400.
I located the ultra high resolution scan of the map on Wikimedia Commons and ordered a 42x54" print of it from Spoonflower on the Kona fabric... for $36 shipped.I'm going to build a frame for this map and put 2 inches of OC 703 behind it. Sweet! I used to live in London years ago and this is a great reminder of my time there.
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Originally Posted by J_P_A /t/1323919/the-timelapse-theatre-planning-n-build-log/1080#post_22669195
How did you find that image on wikimedia? I've been trying to find a painting or print on there and I can't seem to get the search function to cooperate.
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Originally Posted by kezug /t/1323919/the-timelapse-theatre-planning-n-build-log/1080#post_22678047
This build/video thread is awesome. Such a joy. Thank you for taking the time out to put this together to share with all of us.
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Originally Posted by Peter M /t/1323919/the-timelapse-theatre-planning-n-build-log/1080#post_22692157
I love the time lapses ... but am amazed that they seem to show so much productive work !
A time lapse of my efforts would be hilarious ... most of it would be searching for tools, redoing stuff, scratching my head and generally making little progress !!
Cheers,
This would be CLASSIC!Quote:
Originally Posted by jdanforth /t/1323919/the-timelapse-theatre-planning-n-build-log/1080#post_22707910
Editing hides many flaws! There's PLENTY of footage of me scratching my head, hunting for stuff, and breaking things. Maybe I'll put it into the Director's Cut.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdanforth /t/1323919/the-timelapse-theatre-planning-n-build-log/1080#post_22718802
FYI, the company that makes the motion control rig that I use, Dynamic Perception, is having a giveaway! You can find out more here: https://www.facebook.com/DynPerception?sk=app_228910107186452
I use the Stage Zero dolly and it's one of my favorite pieces of camera equipment.
edit: apparently you can only register via Facebook.
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Originally Posted by TMcG /t/1323919/the-timelapse-theatre-planning-n-build-log/1080#post_22720601
DUDE! This is the EXACT NAS I was looking at buying, but I am waiting just a bit longer because the update to this NAS is going to be available in just a few months according to my friend who is the IT Director for Verizon Wireless' Mid-Atlantic reason. Here's a snippet of an e-mail sent to him by the Synology product manager regarding their impending product line update:
"...faster CPUs, and more RAM, plus they’re getting USB 3.0 which would be critical if you’d want to say, dump 2TB of data to an external USB hard-drive. You’re talking a factor of 10x between USB 2.0 and 3.0. …"
He goes on and on about other new features and existing benefits, but he is really big on Synology for the same reasons you listed above.
Thankfully my own NAS needs are not immediate, considering I have zilch, nada, zero, nothing in terms of equipment for any room, let alone my whole-house system. You made an excellent choice, my friend!
But to be honest, I'd love to hear a bit more about the process you went through to set up XMBC on your Mac Mini and the different features you have installed / are available. I know this system functions through your iPad and smartphone, but have you tried to have Crestron or some other third party control system control the Mac Mini? Is there a TCP/IP control protocol? Can the Mac Mini share meta-data with an enabled touch panel device? I am hoping to lean on your experience a bit in this area as I plan out the front-end of my streaming media server if you don't mind....
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdanforth /t/1323919/the-timelapse-theatre-planning-n-build-log/1080#post_22721213
I've been an early adopter long enough that I should know better than to get bummed about my new purchase after reading that. I SHOULD know better but I can't help but feel a little disappointed now.Ah well... this thing will serve me plenty well for years to come. I honestly don't need or want most of the features built in this one already!
It's certainly possible to control XBMC via Crestron. I am, after all, a certified Crestron programmer thankyouverymuch! The interface is a bit cumbersome at the moment mainly because parsing and thrashing XML is such a chore in Crestron's SIMPL+ that I don't even want to bother. The new 3-Series stuff is a whole different ball game. The new SIMPL C# is dead sexy... anything you can do in C# you can do in Crestron land now. XML is now just handled with a freakin' library. That's the way to get data about cover art, etc. out of XMBC. Controlling the Mac Mini isn't really the goal... controlling the programs running on it is, instead, what you should shoot for.
The XBMC installation was dead simple. I followed the suggestions in the HTPC Chat forum but I recently decided to switch back to the default skin, Confluence. Confluence seems to run a WHOLE LOT smoother. Menus are snappier, windows open faster, etc. There are a few things about the UI that annoy me but not enough to ditch it.
Putting XBMC on a Mac Mini is a cheater's way out, I'll admit it. I wanted a small, quiet, ready made solution. The Mac Mini, though it costs $200 or so more than a DIY box, fit that bill perfectly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TMcG /t/1323919/the-timelapse-theatre-planning-n-build-log/1080#post_22721661
Thanks for the explanation and apologies if I made you feel bad...certainly wasn't my intent.
I didn't know if it was possible for XBMC to accept direct control language or not. I haven't even touched the front end of my streaming system research very deeply so I am still awash in the informational muck for the time-being. I have leanings toward the more commercials routes of Dune HD Max, Popcorn Hour and the like. But you just can't beat the computational power provided by a dedicated mac mini. The other consideration is that I would like to have my streaming system tie into a greater whole-home automation system with distributed HDMI. So it appears I will have to purchase the same number of players as I want individual streams. I can see that being two initially, hopefully not more. I think this is the area Dune shines with their miniature versions. I hate the thought of buying multiples of expensive mac-minis but it may just come down to it. I dumped my AMX system in favor of Crestron and am now dumping that in favor of Savant, so everything will already be Apple-based....this is the other consideration for me going the same route as you.
By the way...a bit of a shameless plug, but I believe you were giving me some well-deserved guff about not starting my theater build. Well, my friend, my own build thread is now up and running.
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Originally Posted by jdanforth /t/1323919/the-timelapse-theatre-planning-n-build-log/1080#post_22722559
No offense taken. Technology improves relentlessly. If I waited for the next upgrade I'd never buy anything!
You don't really need the computational power of a Mac Mini to do HTPC playback... an AppleTV has the same processor as the iPhone 4 and it can sling 1080p just fine. If you're doing h.264 encoding / ripping / live TV capture then that's another story! I use my Mac Pro to do all that business though.
You're going to distribute HDMI throughout your house? Bold. The *only* HDMI matrix routing system I would consider is Crestron's DM system. They have solved about 60% of the HDCP headaches out there... the competition has solved more like 25% of them. I just decided to stream my "illegal" legal blu-ray rips instead. Much easier.
Why are you dumping Crestron for Savant? I won't try to talk you out of it but I'm genuinely curious. Crestron is SO powerful provided you have a good programmer.
I subscribed to your thread. I'm already humbled by its quality and grandeur.