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I have had issues playing back 1080p and 720p movies smoothly on my new TV. The TV is connected to an Asus Barebone which is capable of outputting 1080p on HDMI, but my preferred player has always been VLC. Sadly, I have come to realise that the since VLC uses built-in codec, it is very lacking when it comes to 1080p and 720p playback, i.e., H.264 decoding.

The issues I experienced was:

• Jittering
• Audio lag
• 720p could not be scaled to 1080p for playback
• 1080p playback in 1080p would just amount to large pixelated blocks on the screen
• and so on…

Unfortunately, this is really due to the lacking codec performance in VLC itself, but changing player and installing codec resolved 95% of my issue. The last 5% is really due to the lacking GPU power of my Asus Barebone’s ATI X1200 graphics card.

To get it working nicely, you need to:

• Install CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack).
• Replace VLC with Media Player Classic – Home Cinema, since it has the ability to use external codecs
• Buy and install CoreAVC, since CCCP only uses FFDShow for H.264 decoding, which sadly is slow compared to CoreAVC.

Here is the entire process, although if you want the short version; then read this CCCP Wiki article

Go to the CCCP website: http://www.cccp-project.net/

Download CCCP

Once downloaded to you prefered location, you will have the following application, double-click it to run it.

Installation Step 1, just click Next

Installation Step 2, just click Next

Installation Step 3, just click Next

Installation Step 4, just click Next

Installation Step 5, just click Next

Installation Step 6, just click Next

Installation Step 7, just click Next

Installation Step 8, just click Next

Installation Step 9, just click Finish to end the installation and open the CCCP settings.

Installation Step 10, the CCCP Settings, just click Next

Installation Step 11, the CCCP Settings, just click Apply

The CCCP installation has now completed and you will find the following new shortcuts in your Windows Start/Pearl Menu.

Next step is to download and install CoreAVC. Unfortunately, CoreAVC is a paid solution, but well worth the money.

Go to the  CoreAVC website: http://corecodec.com/products/coreavc

Go to “I want to” and select “Retreive my CoreAVC Download SN”

Go to “My Products”

Now log in using your credentials

Click on “View My Products”

Click on your purchased CoreAVC

Scroll down to the download option and start downloading CoreAVC

Once downloaded to your preferred location, you will have the following installer.

Now run the installer and you first see this splash screen:

Installation step 1, just click “I Agree”

Installation step 2, just click Next

Installation step 3, fill in your email address and the serial number provided from CoreCodec.

Installation step 4, now here is the important part!

Installation step 5, remove the checkmark next to Haali Media Splitter and click Next

Installation step 6, just click Install

Installation step 7, the installation process starts and it goes fairly quickly

Installation step 8, once the installation completes, click Close.

With the CoreAVC installation completed you will now have the following new shortcuts in the Windows Start/Pearl Menu.

In order for CoreAVC to be used rather than FFDShow, the CCCP settings need to be adjusted. Go to the CCCP folder and open the Settings

The CCCP Settings window opens.

Now remove the checkmark next to H.264/AVC and click Next

Complete the CCCP settings change with hitting Apply.

That was it, now test your files.

Author: peterdb Category: Uncategorized Tags:

Lotus Notes 8 has an inherent issue on Windows 7, you can’t pin the running Lotus Notes application to the taskbar.

If you do you receive the following error message:

The Notes2 executable launcher was unable to locate its companion launcher jar.

The reason is quite simple: Lotus Notes is a compilation of application that run, not just one single executable, hence the icon that is displayed in your Taskbar is not the launcher.

The only way to get it pinned to your taskbar is to find the shortcut in the start menu, right-click it and select “Pin to Taskbar”. Downside is that you get two Notes icons in the Taskbar, the launcher and the running application, bummer.

Author: peterdb Category: Uncategorized Tags:

Within my LAN I use a computer running Windows 7 as my print server and server for various other stuff, but I setup an account with no password, since others need to be able to access the computer easily also.

However, I often need access to it and Remote Desktop in Windows 7, but Windows 7 (and Vista and XP) does not accept Remote Desktop connections if the user account does not have a password.

Simply do this to get around it:

• Run gpedit.msc
• Go to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options
• Set Accounts: Limit local accounts use of blank passwords to console login only = Disabled

Author: peterdb Category: Uncategorized Tags:

I have a NAS and several times, I need a list of the directories on it in a txt-file, using DIR is perfect for this.

But unmapped NAS’s are usually accessed by UNC paths, sadly, Windows Vista and 7 doesn’t support UNC paths when using Command Prompt commands, such as DIR.

Luckily, I found this quick workaround: http://www.pctools.com/guides/registry/detail/1247/

Works perfectly!

Author: peterdb Category: Uncategorized Tags:

So, on a peronal note…

As a New Years promise both to myself and to my girlfriend I started in January to see a doctor. The reason being mainly my sleep apnea was causing me severe issues and also my weight was becoming an issue.

My sleep apnea had become so bad, that after dropping of my girlfriend at work and driving towards my own, I would often take a nap. In the end it was so bad, that I actually fell a sleep at work. My weight at the time was actually unknown to me but I (personally) assumed that it was around 160 kg (320 lbs) something.

My luck is that I have a very good private healthcare insurance coverage, and it was finally time to put it to work.

I found a good english speaking GP (general practicioner) in my area (Dr. Bally) and went to see him. Immediately he paid attention to my issues and set me down two paths, one to deal primarily first with my sleep apnea and secondly my weight issues. He also had by blood checked and besides a low iron count I was all good. Lucky, because I had though my issues at hand were related to diabetes.

Dr. Bally had referred me to two specialists: Dr. Breitenstein (pneumologist) and Dr. Héraïef (obesity specialist). However, already when Dr. Bally did his initial check-up, he found that my toncils were (and I quote) “really really large” and it would most likely be the recommendation of Dr. Breitenstein, that they should be removed.
Dr. Breitenstein was the first appointment I had and again here I got the same reaction regarding my toncils “they are really really large and need to go”. He referred me to an oto-rhino-laryngologist surgeon Dr. Duscher for the surgery, but also made do a blood oxygen sleep test at home to determine the severeness of my sleep apnea. I had to return the very next day for the results and they were bad average 117 sleep apnea’s per hour, well above the “norm”. He put me on a fast track to get a CPAP (Continues Positive Air Presure) sleeping machine and tried to speed up the process for getting my surgery.

Some weeks later, I met up with Dr. Duscher and immediately his reaction was “they are really really big and need to go” and he would arrange to contact my insurance to get the tosilectomy approved with the backing of the other doctors also. Only a few weeks later and the surgery was approved (verbally) and I was set to go. I got the written approval only a few days before the surgery.

Thanks to my healthcare insurrance, I was able to get into the private hospital Bois Cerf and the surgery was done quickly and was much less painfull, than what I had read online and Dr. Duscher had told. The surgery was not that bad, only the post-op diet of milk products and ice was hard to stomach. In fact, the worst part was not really the surgery, but the effects of the post-op diet (diarrea).

At this point I had already received my CPAP and was sleeping like a baby. In fact the first good nights sleep I had, was the night before we had a restructuring at work and could easily have lost my job. But that day, I came cheerful to work, because I had finally sleept.

Unfortunately, I still have to sleep with the CPAP, although I often don’t, since my sleep apnea has severely dropped. Last time measured was on average four per hour, but with wearing the CPAP. Without the count is still unknown to me, but I can sleep several nights in a row without feeling drowsy. I am scheduled for a follow-up in 2010 May, since I need to get past the second half of my issues: my weight.

In between all the various other doctors visits and surgery I had been going to Dr. Héraïef. He had confronted me with the fact, that my weight was in fact 195 kg (430 lbs). Totally bummer and it brought me completely down, since I had already started to make improvements to my “diet” / food consumption/addiction. But, already from the first visits, he introduced the idea of gastric surgery; potentially gastric sleeve or gastric bypass. Although, the gastric sleeve would most likely be the one, as I was too big have a gastric bypass. He set the process in motion; I needed to attend a three part pre-op course with others heading towards gastric bypass/sleeve surgery and I needed to see a shrink.

The course came first – unfortunately, in french,  but they spoke slowly so I could follow – and was split in three; first part was intro to the surgery both pre and post op and consequences, second part was diet and third part was again diet but also having a meal with a person who had had a gastric bypass. The course was done at Bois Cerf and very good, no website could have informed me at well as they did.

The shrink part was over fast, he declared me sane and mentally ready for the surgery.

Back at Dr. Héraïef, I got the referral to Dr. Ghavami the resident laparoscopic surgeon at La Source and also the president of the laparoscopy society for France and also for Switzerland. He had worked with Dr. Héraïef for years taking many referals from him. Added to this, taking with several of the staff at the hospital when I was admitted, Dr. Ghavami was a very skilled surgeon but also a good people person, which I can truly back up myself.

Surgery got scheduled for late October and I now only a few weeks post-op and adapting to my new diet.

I was weighed before the surgery and my weight was 183 kg (403 lbs).

So, time to stay positive and focus on the weeks ahead and years of life-quality improvement ahead.

EDIT: I added a picture, I made of myself over the past 11 years. I had a period after college where I dropped quite some weight, but it all came flying back on.

Author: peterdb Category: Personal Tags: Gastric Bypass

I finally got Windows 7 installed. Microsoft did something right this time.

But, at lot of drivers for the T60/T60p are missing, so here are a list of usefull drivers:

Power Management (install both the ACPI Power Management and Power Manager for Vista) – http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-62928.html#pm

x1400 Drivers  – Find instructions here: http://windows7center.com/forums/11895-post11.html

Hotkeys – http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-62928.html#utility (although not all the hotkeys work, such as the volume control)

Author: peterdb Category: Uncategorized Tags:

Firefox 3.5 introduced a new feature GFX Color Management. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to work right.

Here is how to disable it

Type in “about:config” in the addressbar and click the button to gain access to the configuration

Type in “gfx.color_management.mode” and hit enter.

The value of “gfx.color_management.mode” should currently be 2, double-click the line and change the value to 0 to disable the GFX Color Management.

Restart Firefox

Thanks to http://kb.mozillazine.org/Gfx.color_management.enabled for the info on the needed values.

Author: peterdb Category: Uncategorized Tags:

Firefox 3.5 is a great improvement over the past versions, but like many others I discovered one annoyance:

When you only have one tab open and try to close it, it closes Firefox too.

I find this really annoying, but I already found a solution (thanks to Lifehacker):

• Type “about:config” on your addressbar
• Type “browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab” and hit Enter
• The Firefox configuration should show only only entry now, double-click it and you are done.

Author: peterdb Category: Uncategorized Tags:

ARGGG… The iPhone OS 3.0 has finally been released, but the iPhone activation server has already gone down…

Lot’s of people – including me – have started to receive the error message:

… or as seen in the diagnostic log that can be sent to Apple as iTunes: Restore error 1639

Guess there is nothing to do right now, than just wait it out and keep trying…. sucks!

Author: peterdb Category: Uncategorized Tags:

After having scoured the Internets to find an answer and not really being able to find an answer to the question How do I set the theme height of an Artisteer theme? I decided to find out myself.

Actually, it was not that hard.

Find the file:

/yourdomain.com/wp-content/themes/YourTheme/style.css

Edit it and look for the section

.Post-body
{

Simply add the height (in pixels) that you want your theme to be. Afterwards, it should look something like this:

.Post-body
{
position: relative;
z-index: 0;
margin: 16px;
height: 600px;
}

Author: peterdb Category: Uncategorized Tags: