Android TV Box 2.3 media players are just hitting the market. These units are very affordable, use low power, and offer incredible flexibility over custom media players like the Noontec A3 and Asus O!Play devices. The specific unit we are reviewing is the Android TV Box Smart HDD Player and online video Player model K830, manufactured by KIM, and running Android TV Version 2.3.

- Android 2.3 TV Box
- 1.2 GHz Rockchip RK2918 Cortex Processor
- HDMI out 1080P
- Adobe Flash Player 10.2
- Wi-Fi Internet connection
- Android Market Place
- Remote Control

Review

Build: The unit build is quite good, although the remote is pretty basic. There are some neat after market wireless keyboards such as the Super Mini 2.4GHz RF which work well with the unit.

Video: We installed Moboplayer and had issues getting it to play 1080p mkv movies from my external USB HDD. Though these were still watchable, the output quality was not as good as DVDs.

Android: We wanted to see if we could root the device, as there are some apps we did not want which come pre-installed. We were unable to root the Android TV Box by Z4Root and Gingerbreak.

This unit has great potential, and we expect that the user community will share hacks and tweaks to get the most out of this unit over time.

Converting Toppy TRF-2400 recorded files for PC playback

Unfortunately, Topfield 2400/2460 files won’t play in Windows Media Player. Toppy suggest you install KMplayer. The Topfield Video files are recorded in the MPEG2 TS (transport stream) format.  To compound this, if you want to edit the files you record, most editing software including Sony Vegas Pro won’t handle this format.

I have found that the best solution is to convert the files into a high quality MPEG 2 format, and from there, you can pretty much do what you want – edit these and convert them to a DVD, or compress them to XVid of DivX formats.

Here is how

Download WinFF

Update ffmpeg
(optional – choose the Static builds, and replace the ffmpeg.exe and ffplay.exe files in the WinFF directory)

Import THIS into WinFF by chosing “Edit/Presets” in the top menu then importing…

Google Maps has captured some amazing footage in Streetview, Satellite and terrain modes.  Here is a satellite image of a plane flying over Adelaide, Australia.

View plane in a larger map

The Topfield TFR 2400 Masterpiece is a PVR (Personal Video Recorder) which can record up to 4 channels simultaneously, while allowing you to watch any one of them, or a recorded program on the hard drive. It is superior to other models as it also has video inputs, which mean you can connect analog sources to it and record them. Other features such as IceTV, Flickr and YouTube are available when you connect the system up to a LAN network providing Internet access.

Topfield are great at enhancing the Firmware – the most recent addition is the ability to stream home media.  Furthermore, it allows you to install TAPs (Topfield Applications) that people have developed which make the experience even better. See how it compares to other PVRs, or add your review comments!

The HDR3500T Personal Video Recorder (PVR) is a digital video recorder which can record 2 shows at once onto the built in 500GB hard drive or record through the units two USB ports. The USB ports can play various multimedia as well including DIVX and MP3. It competes directly with Topfield, Beyondwiz and TiVo but is substantially cheaper – you can buy it from the Good Guys for $346!

The PiP (Picture in Picture) feature gives you the ability to watch 2 channels at once – something both the Beyondwiz DP-P2 and the Topfield TRF-2400 Masterpiece HD don’t do. This model also has the AV inputs to record from another video component such as a cable TV box, directly onto the HDR3500T’s hardrive.  If you have bought one, leave a comment on what you think…

Batteries are critical to the development of portable (electrical) devices. And lithium-ion batteries have been up there in driving the portability revolution. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries hold more charge in a lighter package (as lithium is the lightest metal – hydrogen is not a metal) and have dramatically improved the performance of phones to small electric aircraft. But they do have one drawback – they charge and discharge too rapidly (and the resultant heat can damage the battery or cause a fire). So they need constant monitoring and control by a built-in electronic circuit to avoid this problem.

Construction and operation

The basic construction elements of lithium-ion batteries are individual cells. Each cell comprises two electrodes separated by electrolyte (a gel). When the battery is being charged, the lithium ions migrate from the positive electrode (lithium material) to the negative electrode (carbon) through the gel. When the battery is providing the power, the process is reversed.

Generally, the positive electrodes are made from lithium iron phosphate but an innovative company (Corvus in Vancouver – Canada) use lithium nickel manganese cobalt, because it can provide a greater power density (by more than 20% on conventional lithium iron phosphate). Each cell is placed into 6.2kWh modules, which can be placed together to store an unbelievable MWh. Using some nifty electronics, these 6.2kWh modules can be charged from zero to full in as little as 30 minutes, and able to be discharged in 6 minutes. Corvus claim 3000 charging cycles based on a 100% depth of discharge (till completely flat). Theoretically, if the depth of discharge is only 80%, 300,000 cycles are achievable. Although, being cynical about claims like this, I would doubt it would be of this order.

Dollars and cents and applications

These modules are still much more expensive compared to the other more usual batteries ($9300 against $7500 for standard lithium iron phosphate). The suggestion is to use these mega batteries in applications such as diesel engines which idle for long periods of time where these batteries could provide the necessary power. Thus resulting a ferocious reduction in carbon dioxide (and burnt fuel) emissions. Or alternatively replace diesel engines with electric motors powered by batteries due to the increased efficiencies. And also as an application in electric cars – a recent one with a lithium battery travelled 600km from Munich to Berlin non-stop at an average speed of 90km/h.

Renewable energy sources such as from wind and solar are highly variable. Battery technologies that decrease the cost per watt of renewable energy would be a boon.

Intriguingly, China has ordered a 2.2 MWh lithium battery from Canada for back up to a coal-fired power station.

Finally, lithium is not a rare element. It is produced in countries such as Chile, Australia and China and recyclable, so in seemingly inexhaustible supplies.

Use this utility to change your login image in Windows 7 whenever you want…

Are you tired of looking at that boring Windows 7 screen when you are logging on? Now you can use this utility to let you change your Windows 7 login image whenever you want. Just make sure the images are JPEGs which are less than 256kB and you are good to go.

Download it HERE

If you set up a paid hosting account with 50Webs, you can configure your Outlook to send and receive emails. The only problem is that in most cases, what 50Webs tells you WILL NOT WORK, because your Web hosting provider will prevent you from sending SMTP messages in some way.

So – how do you do it? Well, when you create your new email, 50Webs will confirm it was created as follows:

Dear XXXX,

Your email account is active now. Your e-mail username and password are:

    username: yourname@yoururl.com
    password: XXXXX

For incoming and outgoing servers use mail.50webs.biz

In order to use the outgoing server you must set in your mail client the option \"My server requires authentication\"

Well, try and set up Outlook with My Server Requires Authentication and it does not work – I put a call into the help desk and was told:

Thank you for contacting our Technical Support Department.
The reason for the problem is that your ISP is blocking port 25 for external SMTP servers and allow on the port only for their SMTP.
In this case, simply use port 2525 with our SMTP and it should be working just fine.

To test if an SMTP is being blocked in Windows, you can do this:

Start/Run and type  cmd

Then in the DOS window, type:

TELNET www.yoururl.com 25

If you “get in” you can assume Port 25 is open. Well, I tried Port 2525 and it wasn’t….

Following that, another call in to 50Webs and I get:

I am afraid that port 2525 does not work on mail.50webs.biz

So What now?

The answer is to set up the outgoing SMTP to your web service provider’s, and the incoming one to mail.50webs.biz.

PS in Windows 7, Telnet is disabled. To enable, go to Control Panel and activate it.

1. From the Start menu, choose “Documents”

2. From the top menu, select “Organize”, then “Folder and Search Options”

3. Un-tick “Hide empty drives in the Computer Folder”

One of the early attractions that gained public attention was an electrically illu­minated bridge over the river Seine during the 1900 World Fair in Paris.

The use of electricity may go back much further. While constructing a new railway in 1936 near Baghdad, workers uncovered what appeared to be a prehistoric battery. The discovery was known as the Parthian Battery and was believed to be 2000 years old, dating back to the Parthian period.

The battery consisted of a clay jar filled with a vinegar solution. An iron rod sur­rounded by a copper cylinder penetrated into the liquid and produced 1.1 to 2 volts of electricity.

Figure 1

Not all scientists accept the Parthian Bat­tery as being a source of energy because the application is unknown. It is possible that the battery was used for electroplating, such as putting a layer of gold or other precious metals to a surface of base metals. Figure 1 illustrates the Parthian Battery.

The earliest method of generating elec­tricity occurred by creating a static charge. In 1660, Otto von Guericke constructed the first electrical machine consisting of a large sulfur globe which, when rubbed and turned, attracted feathers and small pieces of paper. Guericke was able to prove that the sparks generated were electrical in nature.

The first practical use of static elec­tricity was the ‘electric pistol, which was invented by Alessandro Volta (1745-1827). An electrical wire was placed in a jar filled with methane gas. By sending an electrical spark through the wire, the jar would explode.

Volta then thought of using this invention to provide long-distance communications, albeit only one Boolean bit. An iron wire supported by wooden poles was to be strung from Como to Milan, Italy. At the receiving end, the wire would terminate in a jar filled with methane gas. To signal a coded event, an electrical spark would be sent by wire that detonated the electric pistol. This communications link was never built.

In 1791, while working at Bologna University, Luigi Galvani discovered that the muscle of a frog contracted when touched by a metallic object. This phenomenon became known as animal electricity – a misnomer, as the theory was later proved.

Prompted by these experiments, Volta initiated a series of experi­ments using zinc, lead, tin or iron as positive plates; copper, silver, gold or graph­ite served as the negative plates.

Figure 2

Volta discovered in 1800 that certain fluids would generate a continuous flow of electrical power when used as conductors. This discovery led to the inven­tion of the first voltaic cell, more commonly known as a battery. Volta discovered fur­ther that the voltage would increase when voltaic cells were stacked on top of each other. Figure 2 illustrates such a serial connection.

In the same year, Volta released his discovery of a continuous source of electricity to the Royal Society of Lon­don. No longer were experiments limited to a brief display of sparks that lasted a fraction of a second. A seemingly endless stream of electric current was now available.

France was one of the first na­tions to officially recognise Volta’s discoveries. France was approaching the height of scientific advancements and new ideas were welcomed with open arms, much to the support of the country’s political agenda. By invitation, Volta addressed the Institute of France in a series of lectures at which Napoleon Bona­parte was present as a member of the institute.

Volta’s discoveries so impressed the world that in November 1800 the French National Institute invited him to lectures at events in which Napoleon Bonaparte participated.

Napoleon helped with the experiments, drawing sparks from

the battery, melting a steel wire, discharging an electric pistol and decomposing water into its elements.

Sir Humphry Davy, inventor of the miner’s safety lamp, made new discoveries when he installed the largest and most powerful electric battery in the vaults of the Royal Institution of London. He connected the battery to charcoal electrodes and produced the first

electric light. Witnesses reported that his voltaic arc lamp produced “the most brilliant ascending arch of light ever seen”.

After Galvani’s successful experiments and the discovery of the voltaic cell, interest in galvanic electricity became widespread. Davy began to test the chemical effects of electricity in 1800 and soon found that by passing electrical current through some substances, decomposition occurred, a process later called electrolysis.

The generated voltage was directly related to the reactivity of the electrolyte with the metal. Davy understood that the actions of electrolysis and the voltaic cell were the same.

In 1802, Dr William Cruickshank de­signed the first electric battery capable of mass production. Cruickshank arranged square sheets of copper with equal sheet sizes of zinc. These sheets were placed into a long rectangular wooden box and soldered together. Grooves in the box held the metal plates in position. The sealed box was then filled with an electrolyte of brine, or watered down acid, resembling the flooded battery that is still with us today.

In 1836, John F Daniell, an English chemist, developed an improved battery that produced a steadier current than Volta’s device. Until then, all batteries were primary, meaning that they could not be recharged. In 1859, the French physician Gaston Plate invented the first rechargeable battery. It was based on lead acid, a system that is still used today.

In 1899, Waldmar Jungner from Swe­den invented the nickel-cadmium battery (NiCd), which used nickel for the positive electrode and cadmium for the negative. Two years later, Thomas Edison produced an alternative design by replacing cadmium with iron.

High material costs compared with dry cells or lead acid systems limited the prac­tical applications of the nickel-cadmium and nickel-iron batteries. It was not before Shlecht and Ackermann achieved major improvements by inventing the sintered pole plate in 1932 that NiCd gained new attention.

This resulted in higher load currents and improved longevity. The breakthrough came in 1947 when Neumann succeeded in sealing the nickel-cadmium cell.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the attention was on nickel-based chemistries. Concerned about environmental contamination if NiCd was carelessly disposed, Europe began restricting this chemistry and asked the industry to switch to nickel metal hydride (NiMH). Many say that the NiMH is an interim step to lithium-ion (Li-ion), and this may well be true.

Much of the research activities focused on improving lithium-ion. Besides powering mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, tools and medical devices, Li-ion is also a candidate for vehicles.

Li-ion has a number of benefits including a higheiAenergy density, is easier to charge and does not have maintenance issues un­like nickel-based batteries. Nor does Li-ion suffer from sulfation, which is common with lead-based systems.

Electricity through magnetism, an alter­native method of generating electricity to static charge and battery, came relatively late. In 1820, Andre-Marie Ampere (1775-1836) noticed that wires carrying an electric cur­rent were at times attracted to, and at other times repelled from, one another.

In 1831, Michael Faraday (1791-1867) demonstrated how a copper disc provided a constant flow of electricity while revolving in a strong magnetic field. Faraday, assist­ing Davy and his research team, succeeded in generating an endless electrical force as long as the movement between a coil and magnet continued. This led to the invention of the electric generator.

By simply reversing the process, the electric motor was discovered. Shortly thereafter, transformers were developed that could convert alter­nating current (AC) to any desired voltage. In 1833, Faraday established the foundation of electrochemistry that led to Faraday’s Law.

Once the relationship with magnetism was discovered in the mid-1800s, large generators began producing a steady flow of electricity. Motors followed that enabled mechanical movement and the Edison light bulb appeared to conquer darkness.

Three-phase AC technology developed by Nikola Tesla enabled trans­mission lines to carry electric power over great distances. Electricity was thus made available to humanity to improve overall quality of life.

The invention of the electronic valve in the early 1900s formed the significant next step towards high technology, enabling frequency oscillators, signal amplification and digital switching. This led to radio broadcasting in the 1920s and the first digital computer called ENIAC in 1946.

The discovery of the transistor in 1947 paved the way to the integrated circuit 10 years later. The microprocessor ushered in the information age and revolutionised the way we live today.

Humanity depends on electricity, and with increased mobility, people are moving more and more towards portable power storage – first for wheeled applications, then portability and finally wearable use.

As awkward and unreliable as the early batteries may have been, future generations may look at today’s technologies as nothing more than clumsy experiments.