Enhancing UniFi HyppTV Experience with Powerline-Ace

Back in mid-2010 when I had just got my UniFi high-speed broadband service installed, I wrote a detailed post describing my setup. Since then, I had received numerous questions from blog readers pertaining to UniFi installation in general. It’s 2012 now and I’m writing this post because I’ve got an interesting technological bit to share. Read on…

My UniFi IPTV Setup

It’s about 3 weeks since I’ve got my UniFi high-speed broadband service deployed. In my previous posts, I’ve written about my UniFi installation experience and some speed tests that I’ve done.

This time around, I’m going to share my experience on one of the UniFi service triple-play component, namely the HyppTV IPTV service.

Getting IPTV Up and Running

As part of the UniFi VIP5 offering, an IPTV set-top box (STB) is provided free by TM (see below). The STB connects to the TV via a regular set of A/V cables. An HDMI cable is also provided but we’ve only got a Standard-Definition TV (SDTV).

I'm Tech·Ed SEA 2008 Blog & Win Contest August Winner!

I was doing some housekeeping on my personal mailbox today and discovered an e-mail that I had earlier missed during my daily checks.  It's a notification message that I'm the 4th round (August) winner of the Tech·Ed SEA 2008 Blog & Win contest!

I get so many junk mails these days that authentic mails do get overlooked occasionally.  Having several email accounts to check does not help either! 
All that aside, I'll be going to collect my prize coming Monday.  It's a Microsoft Wireless Optical Laser Mouse 5000 (updated).  Woo hoo! This is what I just need! My current A4Tech BatteryFREE Wireless Optical Mouse is acting quirky — it's double-clicking when it should only click once and the scrollwheel is losing traction; I certainly look forward to its replacement!

Technorati tags: tech.ed

Shopping for a Budget Lappie

I was shopping for a budget notebook not for myself but for my other half.  I was "given" the liberty to decide on the spec. The budget? Around RM2,000 or less.

The Lappie Hunt

So came PC Fair 2008 in KL last weekend and my plan was to get the new lappie there. I went to the venue on Friday but alas, all the car parks around the area were full!

I could have queued in line but I didn't have the luxury of time. I had to get the notebook that very day as the following day I had to head to Ipoh to "deliver" the new lappie.

In the end, I settled for an Acer Aspire 4715z for slightly less than RM2,000 at an Acer roadshow at MidValley Megamall.  I believe it's a good deal and the specs are as follows: Pentium Dual Core 1.86Ghz, 1GB RAM (upgraded to 2GB), 160GB HDD, DVD Writer, WiFi ready, webcam (super clear!), Windows Vista Basic, 1-year Acer warranty, and a host of trial-wares (McAffee anti-virus, Office Home and Student 2007, games, etc.).

3G-ing with Celcom Broadband

Coupled with a Huawei 3G USB modem (on Celcom 3G broadband), the Acer-Vista combination worked beautifully. From Ipoh, I was able to get 300-400kbps on the downlink and 80-90kbps on the uplink. Ping times to local servers were in the 200-400ms range -- a little big on latency but not surprising for a wireless broadband technology.

A day later, we were in Teluk Intan. 3G is achievable there but the connection is not as fast as what we got in Ipoh. However, there is no 3G reception in a remote village in Bagan Pasir (quite expected); nevertheless, GPRS is still available.

Mission Accomplished!

The weekend hunt for a budget laptop ended well. My other half was happy with the buy. Now she can boast that her notebook is better than mine. I'm full of envy!

Technorati tags: acer, notebook, celcom, 3G

Lightning Scare

Just about more than a month ago (on March 7th), both my Aztech broadband modem and D-Link wireless router were fried by a nasty lightning strike.

More Misery

Two network cards within my home network later turned casualties too.  Within weeks, my two-year old Brother laser printer refused to work.  Brother customer service told me that the printer mainboard could be the issue.  Repairs would not have been worth it.

The Belkin Deal

I replaced the router and modem with a Belkin 7632 wireless router cum broadband modem combo and it came with a lifetime warranty and one-to-one swap deal.  For that, Belkin's product came at a premium price and it took some convincing before I decided to put my cash into it.

Lightning Strikes Back!

Not taking anymore chances, from that day onwards, I was diligent in disconnecting my network equipment on the slightest sound of thunder.  Thunderstorms are getting more frequent in KL these days.  But today, I missed the hint by probably a few minutes.  There was slight rumbling of the thunder and without much warning, my Belkin was zapped...just like that!

The Calm after the Storm

I went to the dealer and got the Belkin checked. Within 10 minutes, I was given a brand new unit (in shrink-wrapped box). They didn't even need my old box!  So, the one-to-one swap was indeed a real deal. The unit I was given has an updated firmware and slightly different port arrangement.  Other than that, it looks the same.  I must thank the original sales rep who sold me the product.

I got back home and got the new Belkin configured for Streamyx broadband within minutes.  Thankfully, so far, no problems with my network cards.

So, if you're living in a lightning prone area, I strongly recommend getting a Belkin even if you have to pay a little more!

Technorati tags: belkin, modem, router, lightning

Random Reboots, Driver Updates and Vista Activation

Of late, my Windows Vista desktop system has been terribly unstable.  I'll get several random BSODs and lock-ups in a day and the reboots have become more frequent. I'm inclined to believe that my hardware is to be blamed.

Northbridge Chip

A few months back, my Abit KV8 MAX3 motherboard Northbridge (NB)fan made grinding noises and one day the stock fan just died.  I got a Cooler Master NB heatsink to replace the fan and added an additional Cooler Master casing fan (bringing it to 2 casing fans). The NB and CPU temperatures looked okay (both hovering around sub-40C) and yet the random reboots continued.

RAM and CPU

Could it be the RAM or CPU then?  I tested the RAM modules with Memtest86+ as well as Vista's own memory test utility.  No reboots during the tests and not a single error.  I ran Prime95 torture test, I didn't get any errors but there was one occasion it blue-screened.

Power Supply

I was thinking of more suspects and I came down to the power supply.  The power supply of my system came with my casing and it has a 200W continuous power output rating (450W standard output rating).  It's able to offer only 10A on +12V.  I thought with that spec, the power supply would not have been able to provide enough juice for my system.  So, I replaced the original power supply with an Enermax Tomahawk 500W dual rail power supply with 80%+ efficiency. The Enermax is able to offer 22A on each +12V rail. Cool....but alas, my system was still acting up.

BIOS Settings

Next, I took a closer look at the motherboard BIOS settings.  I lowered the FSB speed from 204Mhz to 200Mhz and adjusted the CPU core voltage accordingly.  That made a difference! No more blue screens but I now got Vista to lock up at random though not frequent.  Could it be a driver issue?

Chipset Driver Update

While I always use the latest Vista device drivers for my system, I have neglected updating the third-party VIA chipset drivers all these while.  So, I updated my system with the latest VIA drivers and guess what? Vista is now deactivated and I have 3 days grace to reactivate it. What's going on?  How can a simple driver update trigger a Vista deactivation?  That led me to this article: WARNING: device driver updates causing Vista to deactivate.

Windows Vista Activation

I tried reactivating Vista online but it reported that my activation ID has already been used (yes, by me...duh!). I called up Microsoft "toll free" automated activation service on my mobile but got an automated reply that my activation request is denied. So I opted to speak to a customer service agent, explaining the reason for activation and finally got Vista activated.  However, it is not without incurring a call cost of over RM10 on my mobile.

So, it's now a wait and see game.  As I type this long post, my system has not crashed and I hope it stays that way...

Technorati tags: vista, via, abit

Brother HL-2040 + x64 = Simply Works!

Got this 20ppm baby today. The Brother HL-2040 personal laser printer works flawlessly with Windows XP Professional x64. The 64-bit WHQL certified printer driver is available from Brother's website.

Printing speed is excellent. I did not notice any paper curl as mentioned in some of the reviews at Amazon.com. (I'm using 80gsm multi-purpose paper.) Text quality is good.

The bad: The printer is a little on the noisier side while printing. However, on standby, the printer is dead quiet.

All in all, a good buy! (The HL-2040 has been rated "Best Buy" in PC World - Nov 10, 2005)

My first AMD

For the past 7 years or so, I've been chugging along with a Pentium II machine cruising at a "speedy" 266Mhz. Yeah.....right. ;-) Seriously, it's not really that slow. It just proves having a good memory, storage and video subsystem can help boost overall system performance. With 320MB SDRAM on board, a good Leadtek AGP video card, a 7200RPM Seagate drive, it "feels" just as fast as some of the newer generation machines with under-equipped subsystems.

Today, I took delivery of my first AMD desktop machine (after having owned 4 Intel desktops) The one I got is an Athlon 64 3000+. Not really the high-end one, but just enough to get me into 64-bit computing. The motherboard hosts the aging but proven 754-socket and is AGP only i.e. it doesn't come with PCI Express. I'm not a gamer, or rather, I'm just a casual gamer; so, I don't really care much about frame rates. 8X AGP does fine for me.

For the video card, I chose an ATI Radeon 9550-based card -- pretty much an entry-level DirectX9 card with cool multi-monitor support. For the hard drive, I've decided to break away from the tradition of using Seagate drives and move on to something fresh. Guess what? It's a Samsung SATA drive! Err...I gave a blank look at the sales person who recommended me this drive. What? Samsung makes hard drives too? Ah...now I remember. They have been in this business for quite a while but have kept a low profile. Samsung is not the fastest performing drives but is one of the coolest and quietest around. To be continued...

New iPod Shuffle

Apple has released iPod Shuffle. It's smaller than a pack of gum and is available in 512MB and 1G. The footnote on Apple's website says:

Do not eat iPod shuffle.

Anti-RSI keyboard rocks!

A keyboard is a keyboard is a keyboard. Well, not so. I got myself a sleek black A4 Tech keyboard (Model KBS-720). It's reasonably priced too. The maker of the keyboard claims that the "A-shape" key layout prevents Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) from the wrists and arms. Center "A-type" keys matches the way the fingers naturally move and provides maximum comfort while typing.

Joining the DigitALL revolution

I bought myself a cool new 17" Samsung SyncMaster 763MB flat-screen monitor replacing my 6-year-old CTX 17 incher. The colors are vibrant and texts appear sharp. I especially like the MagicBright feature in which 3 brightness modes are available at just a touch of a button.