October 29th, 2007 / 4 Comments » / by apeman
ExpressVu HD subscribers will be happy to know that we will be getting two new HD channels that we can subscribe to!
Bell ExpressVu is the first to launch the new Super Channel, and starting on November 2nd, ExpressVu HD subscribers will be the first to preview the new set of stations until November 22nd.
October 27th, 2007 / 8 Comments » / by apeman
Last week, Bell ExpressVu quitely began shipping the new HD 9242 HD PVR to Bell stores. The new receiver, has been long expected because of ExpressVu’s impending shift to MPEG-4 over MPEG-2.
The new receiver, which has been rumored for several months now has finally shown up, and adds increased HD recording capacity (30 Hours, vs 24 hours on the 9200), its black! (unlike the silver unit in the picture) and it has an S-Video output for TV2.
Right now, there is no reason to upgrade your 9200 to the 9242 unless you are having technical problems, or you really need the extra 5 hours of HD recording capacity. Bell is not expected to begin rolling out MPEG-4 unil at least 2009.
If you have a 9242, I’d like to hear your impressions of the new unit in the comments below, likewise, if you have a question, please post a comment and I will do my best to answer it for you.
August 27th, 2007 / 7 Comments » / by apeman
The biggest complaint about the Bell ExpressVu PVR models was finally addressed today, all Bell ExpressVu receivers should now be capable of a 9 day program guide. I can’t confirm if this is the case for other reciever models first hand, but early reports and email tips show that this is the case.
The limitation of a 40 hour guide was by far the largest complaint of ExpressVu 9200 HD PVR owners, and owners of Bell’s earlier PVR models. ExpressVu had been quietly updating the firmware of their receivers over the summer, and just flipped the 9 day guide switch sometime today.
With the addition of the 9 day guide comes 9200 firmware version 150. I have not noticed any new enhancements other than the longer guide, but the extra days of information will be really useful for planning PVR recording timers.
August 13th, 2007 / 1 Comment » / by apeman
I origionally switched to Linux over 10 years ago because my modest hardware could not keep up with Windows, and I was rewarded with a reliable, stable, and responive system. Fast forward 8 years and I am now a very satisfied Ubuntu user, however, I have never been a fan of desktop enviroments such as GNOME and KDE. I normaly prefere something very light weight such as WindowMaker.However, I found a way to keep a “mostly default” Ubuntu install with a light weight desktop. I had used Xfce a couple of years ago while experimenting with Redhat 8,9 and Fedora, and I quite enjoyed it.
August 4th, 2007 / No Comments » / by apeman
Ever wonder where in the sky the ExpressVu satellites sit? You hear about 91w and 82w all the time but what does that look like plotted on a map. Please note that since the satellites rotate with the earth, its called geosynchronous orbit, and because of this the satellites over the equator.
I’ve plotted the satellites below using the Google Maps API.
If you have any questions, please post a comment.
