Category: Geeks r Us
Does anyone have one and what can you tell me about it. I'm looking for a company to build me one because I'm not sure if I can build one. As a blind person can we build our own computer?
You could, but buying built is better. My reasons for saying this is cost. Because companies buy more parts they can do a system cheaper for you than you can, plus they have to support the manufacturing problems.
For a home system, I believe a computer is the best outlet for a blind person in terms of managing your collection and also playing it.
You'll want as much hard drive space as you can afford, a video card that supports HDMI out, and a good sound card. Sound Blaster Extreme does the trick, and cost about $49.
Back to the video card. Depending on the set you wish to connect you'll want to match it. Example. Many sets can manage 1080P now, so if you have one that can make sure your video card can stream at this rate.
It doesn't hurt to have a card that can stream at a highter rate than your set can handle, but is a draw back to have a set that can support the highter rate of stream, but not be able to create it.
Last, a computer is able to connect to any and all speaker configurations, so that's a plus as well.
Now the system you want to build depends on your wallet, so I can't suggest what to buy. Computer monitors are great to watch Hi def video on, so if you can't get above say 32 inches on the TV I'd just get the largest monitor I could get.
If you are running Windows 7 you can have a dual monitor configuration. Example, you could have a desktop monitor and your TV, whatever that is connected to the computer at the same time, so when you have a visual person working it the computer they can just use the desktop monitor, and when its time to show the flicks you can stream them to the TV.
There is much more, but I've given you my opinion on the basics.
Let the fun start!
I’ve read the post and understand a bit better what you are doing. All that I am going to write is my opinion, plus I am also writing from a blind person’s prospective.
I am going to say again that the computer is the best, most accessible way for a blind person to control his or her media.
Let’s start with the base, the computer. With all the applications you want to run at once ram is your friend. Having 24GB is nice, but you have to consider at what speed it runs. 24GB running at 400MHz and 8GB running at 1333MHz makes a difference. The 8GB is going to do better than the 24GB and cost a third as much. Also dual channel opposed to single channel ram is a factor. Many companies don’t put the speed of the ram up front, and you have to go digging for it. Companies such as Dell, Asus, and Toshiba are running the faster speed ram on all systems.
For storage I’d get as much as possible, but I’d break it up in to several internal drives. A system with 2 500 GB drives that run at 720RPM is desirable. You want your drive to run as fast as possible.
My reasoning for multiple drives is fail safety. You are not likely to lose 2 drives at once, so your repair and recapture of your data is easier.
Processor power is great, but you’re streaming video, not running a spaceship, so and Intel I3 or I5 would be decent enough. If you were editing, or creating than you’d want the best processor you could get.
I’m an Intel man, so didn’t say what AMD processors I’d choose. Intel processors in my opinion run cooler when stressed and are durable.
Of course the boys at AMD would disagree with me, but the girls are all working for Intel, that tells you something, right?
That brings me to the next point, why don’t you use 2 computers instead of one? Why must everything run through your media center computer? You could save lots of money if you have a computer dedicated to the purposes of music and movies. You would also be able to get a slim tower, and even an attractive front color to match your decor in your living room. A system with 6GB ram and a good video card, and a blue ray drive would run you around 600. You’ll want to get the best sound and video card the company you choose offers in that model. Choosing the companies premium system will allow you to choose these options. I like Dell for this reason. Choosing Dell’s flagship, or business line, allows for choosing options widely.
Back to storage, if you must have a slim tower you’ll have to settle for one internal drive. That’s not such an issue, and you can always backup your video library to an external drive, or a cloud storing service, probably a good idea anyway.
Dell’s Inspiron line offers the color choices, and HP has systems specifically built for media uses. These are running AMD however, but if built by the company you’ll not have to worry about what’s inside the box, just so it works. Again these look better. If you insist on having all run by one system you’re going to have to move up to the company’s you choose gaming, or business line. These are going to have the variety of options but the casings are going to be larger.
When using one computer as your base for everything you’ll want to make sure your video card can support a dual monitor configuration. You’ll be running the TV and a computer monitor this way.
The desktop monitor in our case is for the sighted guest, and has many applications. It is possible to have a movie on the big screen, and your messenger, document, or whatever you are working on, showing on the smaller monitor. You’ll be in the gaming, or business line, so this should be a feature all should offer.
Now Blue Ray just isn’t all that anymore, but you’ll want your setup to be as versatile as possible, so get a Blue Ray drive. These are able to do anything, so you just need the one drive. Your greatest choice of titles is going to come from DVD, or online sources, such as Netflix, or from your cable provider.
You’ve got to have Jaws running. Get a second sound card and speakers just for this. A T Guys atguys.com has a nice one for less than $20. You’ll not want Jaws booming on your big speakers interrupting the sounds. It is a little USB plug in device. Office Depot has one as well, but A T Guys has more features. Any 2 way speakers on the desk will do.
Last on the computer, choosing one built by a company allows for overheating testing, durability, and such things. When you connect your system to your home theater setup you can use it like you own it with no fear of damaging it. If it stops working the company will be the people responsible for it.
Because you don’t have any experience doing this go with a company that offers what is called total support. Total support gives you the option of calling them and getting help with hardware and software issues. If you are having trouble configuring your video source you can call them and get guidance.
Running your media center PC through an A V or what companies are calling digital input receivers, amplifier and decent speaker setup will be the best way to get quality audio. Some companies like Bose, offer speaker configurations that connect directly to the computer, but the better is the separate setup. Step in to your local Best Buy, or locate what is called a pro audio shop and listen. Reading about how nice Amp’s and speakers are is great, but you’re listening to them and deciding if you like what you are hearing is the best test. Of course the room they are installed in makes a different as well, but if you can’t modify the room, then getting the best sound by listening is the key. You did say you are a discerning listener, so go discern.
The 5.1, 5.2, and 7.1 business posters are talking about has to do with number of speakers. Imagine sitting in the center of a box. In a 5.1 setup you’ll have 3 speakers in front of you and 2 behind, and a sub located someplace in the room. The speakers in front will be a center and a left and right, the speakers behind will be left and right. If you add a second sub, than you have a 5.2 setup. The 7.1 is the same except you add 2 more speakers located to the left and right of your shoulders. When streaming a properly decoded movie or playing a game decoded in this manner the sound will travel around you. 5.1 seem to be the gold standard, and 5.2 is geek special. I personally don’t know of many titles decoded in 7.1, and if you happen to get one the 5.1 will handle it just fine.
Computer comes with both 5.1 and 7.1 cards. It doesn’t hurt to run a 5.1 system with a 7.1 card. In the cards programming these settings can be applied. Sound Blaster cards are accessible for us. You can get inside the cards control panel and make changes easy.
Now we come to the viewing part. You are blind, so can’t see how the TV or monitor is going to look. You also have to consider the size of the room you are going to be setting up in. Depending on your budget, and you’ve not set one, take the advice of your sighted friend, or persons you’ll be sharing the movies with. Again, step in to your Best Buy, Sears, or if you have a store that has a wide range of TV’s your friend can watch. After you find the model she or he likes best you can shop online for the best price on it.
Buying from a shop gives you the advantage of having them come out and installing it. They’ll come out and put the complete system together for you, so all you need do is learn the controls.
We are blind, so going out to the shop to choose your Amp and TV allows you to see if the controls on them are easy for you to work. If you can’t work the controls with the remote, or your hand than the system is no good to you. Once all is setup your PC will be your base, and you can even get a remote for that when kicking back on the couch, but there will be times you’ll need to change settings on the individual components, so go touch.
You’ll hear much about 720P and 1080P, so what does that mean to us, nothing at all. We put our hand on the TV and we just feel one panel. For the sighted 1080P or plexus is better than 720, because with a larger screen the picture fills up the screens space more completely, so there is little blank space on the sides and bottom. You’ll hear about GHz as well. The cheaper sets will have maybe 60GHz and the better 120GHz. That to us is like something recorded in audio standards, but in video response timing I understand is not a big deal. The picture is clear, the drinks are cold, popcorn hot, and some hot star is on the screen, and, *sigh*.
I find a great source of information on this subject and product pricing and reviews is CNET, www.cnet.com
Do some searching. Read the getting started buyers guide and you’ll learn much, and can set a budget that works. As one poster stated it’s not how much you spend in many cases it’s what you buy.
Good luck!
Thank you very much. All of that makes sense.
Glad to help. Post it up there for me. Maybe you'll get some one local that reads that board and will be willing to give you a hand with the setup. Geeks love to play. :)
I posted this on http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=21320599#post21320599
I am glad you are writing about this at this time.
I just got a new htpc, it is about as big as a WII (perhaps 8 incehes tall/wide with 5 inches across and 3 inches high?). very good system, with a new generation intel sandy bridge processor (core i5-2500s). It cost $540, which isn't bad!
The system was built by a company in California, MITXpc. So it is custom built, with an intel h61 motherboard.
This link
is where you can check it out.
concerns/comments:
1. the case is rock solid, with many holes in it (the entire case is covered with tiny openings for air to flow out). it weighs around 4-5 pounds.
2. it does use a laptop hard drive, which partially covers the heatsink, though not enough to stop airflow much.
3. it also uses laptop ram. I made the mistake of getting a ddr3 stick for a desktop.
4. It is hard to expand a computer this size. Afterall, it is so tiny, you can only fit an hdd in there. no cd-drive, etc. I may be able to get a second bracket and squeeze a second drive in, but not sure. It is suspended from the top of the case horizontally, unlike fuller, micro-ATX or ATX cases.
5. Temperatures are not too terrible, but not the greatest either. Basically in the mid-low 50s (celsius), or around 120-130 degrees F. When pushed to limits, his rises to 80-84 degrees C (182-186 F). Sigh!!! And installing extra fans won't help much either. There already is a case fan on the front, as well as the small CPU heatsink.
There ya go! :)
My beef exactly. Going with the better companies gives you better products or complaining room. They simply do it all the time. Testing is better. Manufacturing is better, equals quality.
If I were to do a custom computer I believe I'd do as well as anyone with a small shop, but if I want it to work, and I don't want to worry I go with the established. Pricing is better too.
That brings me to another watch. Some conpaies will mark a product for example Intil I5, but what kind of I5 are you getting? Intil does several types, so watching speed, if it is duall or quad will make a difference in what you've got at the source. The better brands are building systems with top speeds as a rule, so for example if you get an I5 instead of being the 2.0 or 2.1 it will be at 2.4 with turbo boost. That is for laptops. At the desktop level you're up to at least 3.0 and better.
You buy a low grade I5 or first gen you could save your money and just get an I3 and do better actually.
If I can't ask questions and get them answered I hang up and call the company that is open to my questions.
Here is the system I’d build as a blind person.
XPS 8300
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, 64Bit, English
Processors Intel® Core™ i7-2600 processor(8MB Cache, 3.4GHz)
Memory 12GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs
Keyboard Dell Consumer Multimedia Keyboard
Monitor Dell ST2420L 24"W Full HD Monitor, 24.0 VIS, VGA Cable supplied only
Video Card Single AMD Radeon™ HD 6870
Hard Drive 1TB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 500GB SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM HDDs)
Mouse Dell Laser Mouse
Network Card Standard USB 2.0 + 10/100/1000 Ethernet
Modem No Dial Up Modem Option
TBU Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
Optical Drive Blu-ray Combo Drive (8X BD-R, DVD+/-RW) with DVD+R double layer write capability
Sound THX® TruStudio PC™
Speakers No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Wireless Dell 1501 Wireless-N PCIe Card
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
Security Software McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months
Hardware Support Services 2 Year Total Support
Peace of Mind DataSafe 2.0 Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
Trusted ID Trusted ID,IDSafe, 12 Month Subscription, Digital Delivery
Price is around $1500 but with some creative shopping can be $1000. Not listed is USB 3.0 which is backwards compatible for your 2.0 items, multiple monitor support, HDmI out.
The monitor is a concession for sighted guest, and is decent enough to watch a movie, or game. Is also can support digital toys such as cameras.
2 years of total support gives a blind person sighted assist on tap 24/7 to fix of repair any hardwear/software issues. This can even be extended if desired after having the system for a while.
The sound card is accessible for screen readers, but I’d ditch the software, like the McAfee for other options, it’s not very accessible.
This system can handle anything a blind person might need without breaking a sweat and even impress most of your sighted company. Less memory, 6 to 8 BG would work. 2 500GB drives would be a better choice and you can have this system built that way, but this is a great package.
Next comes the noise.
This is not necessarily a blind issue, but in the home theater some equipment would be easier to use than others.
You don’t set a budget so I picked what I liked.
The best sound is going to come from an AVR and speakers. For my AVR I’d choose Denon AVR-1912
http://usa.denon.com/us/pages/home.aspx
This one is feature packed and has a great sound. The features aren’t going to be accessible, such as the Rhapsody and others, but all can be handled with the PC. All we need the AVR for is the amplifier and decoder for surround sound. The PC is patched in and it’s pretty much left alone after you get it set the way you like.
My first choice of speakers, Pioneer SP-PK21BS
www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA
These are going to be large, but if space isn’t an issue they’ll make great noise.
Next choice would be Energy Take Classic 5.1
www.energy-speakers.com/na-en/
These are pretty, so if looks are important these are, and small, but with good sound.
The price for either setup with the AVR will be around $800, and just the speakers around $400.
You already have an AVR, so these speakers would be a good addition. I assume you already are comfortable with the AVR controls, so if it works and you like its sound stick with it.
Sense everything is going to be controlled with the PC you can go without an AVR. The chosen PC sound card will get you beautiful sound. My first choice for this configuration is a system from audio Engine http://audioengineusa.com/
This company has several configurations. The have powered speakers and they have unpowered. The subwoofer can be applied to all systems. It’s not going to be 5.1 but 2.1, so if that matters stick with the AVR/speaker setup. These would work great however for music, movie, gaming applications. You can communicate with them directly and after you order if you don’t like them send them back risk free.
Price is from $200 to $800 and can be purchased from other vendors, but the price seems to be the same and you lose that risk free trial, so I’d order direct.
Bose http://www.bose.com/ offers a system that connects directly to your PC sound card and gives you 5.1 audio. You can see these at your Best Buy. If ordering order directly from Bose, You’ll again get a risk free trial.
We don’t like Jaws booming over the big speakers, so need a USB external sound card. A T Guys http://atguys.com/
Has the best price $14.99 for a fuller featured device. It has volume, mute, headphone and mic jack, and can be extended on the extension cable for easier access. Any desktop speakers with a 3.5MM jack will do for the Jaws you like. The USB card allows for many applications, such as Skyping, or Facebooking while running movies/music and more.
Now for the moving pictures!
Windows 7 makes it easy and accessible to control and manage video media. It comes with Media Center, and Media Player. You also said you have a TV tuner, so the local channels are accessible.
Adding services such as Netflix https://www.netflix.com/
Amazon instant video, http://www.amazon.com/
Or any other online service is going to be the best. The Blue Ray drive gives access to all disc media.
If desire using a cable provider, the audio from the cable box can be patched through the computers sound card and the video in to the monitor, or if you have the second larger monitor patch in to it, eliminating the need to control the AVR or have one.
The video card is able to handle multiple monitors, so if desire that second much money can be saved getting one with a great picture, but few features. It needs to have more than one HDMI input for viewing the cable box, or digital toys if desired.
Choosing the second monitor can be accomplished using specifications alone, but good specs don’t always equal good picture quality, so shopping for it is best done with a sighted companion. Once you decide on the model you want online bargain hunting is good.
Buying the set from a local shop allows for ease of setup however. Many offer free delivery and setup, and will patch it to your computer for you.
I have noted while out looking at sets that some seem not to have any buttons or switches you can feel, and some seem not to have any at all. We need buttons for the time being, due to these touch screens not currently being accessible. All can be controlled using the provided remote, but for me I want a set with some sort of on board control I can feel.
A decent set with 720P runs about 300 and if you desire 1080P over 400.
Again all 3 posts are my opinion, but user friendly for the blind user. With most things electronics wise there is always better, but better cost more too.
Now all I need is the drinks, snacks, and some ones credit card information for ordering. Any offers?