In late November 2009 I was approached to build a solution for my local church who were sick of hiring backdrops for their events. To make it even more fun I was given a $12,000 budget! Sounds like a lot of money right? Well not really when you think about what was going to be involved.

So here’s the brief:

• The screen needs to be 11 meters wide and 4.5m high.
• Be bright enough to project an image with stage lights on.
• Not interfere with the talent on stage.

Well to make it even more fun the room did not allow for a single projection which meant that I would have to use two projectors. The main problem is how to take a single image and split it evenly across the two screens.

This is where the Matrox Dual Head 2 Go game to the rescue! Matrox have this amazing unit that allows you to use a single video output to spread the single image across multiple displays. The super intelligent Matrox software allows your PC or Mac to output an extra wide display which the Dual Head 2 Go then separates into two displays which I was able to hook up to our two brand new 12 thousand lumes projectors.

All in all the Matrox Dual Head 2 Go turned a thousand dollar PC with an ok graphics card with two outputs into a media server that allowed a north east church to become a fully functioning theatre venue.

Be careful though there are three different Dual Head 2 Go’s so be sure to call our friendly staff on 1300 WARCOM and we can help you find the perfect solution for you.

Here is a teaser of what you can achieve with one of these cool units.

We’ve had the Matrox dual head 2 go installed for over two years now and have had no problems at all.

If you are looking for something on a smaller scale the Matrox Dual Head 2 Go is perfect for running a split screen set up on your desktop.

Installing Android CyanogenMod 7.1 Android Alpha 3 on the HP TouchPad!

Did you mange to score yourself one of the few HP TouchPads which Harvery Norman decided to clear out earlier this year?

If you did you’ve probably found out by now that, for a well polished piece of technology, the HP TouchPad and it’s WebOS software is fairly useless for anything other than browsing the web.

That is… until now!

After several months of hard work from these developers, the HP TouchPad can now install/port Android CyanogenMod onto it, through the Android CyanogenMod 7.1 Alpha 3!

If this is the one you’ve been waiting for, simply following the steps outlined below and get your HP Android Tablet up and running with Android CyanogenMod in no time!

Source: http://liliputing.com/2011/11/how-to-install-cyanogenmod-7-1-android-alpha-3-on-the-hp-touchpad.html

1. Download update-cm-7.1.0-tenderloin-a3-fullofbugs-signed.zip from the RootzWiki forum. You can either download it directly on your tablet or on your computer and then copy it to your tablet.
2. Make sure the ZIP file is located on your SD card.
3. While running Android on your TouchPad, press and hold the power button and then select the “reboot” option.
4. Tap the option to “Reboot to Recovery.”
5. Your tablet should reboot to ClockworkMod Recovery.
6. Use the volume buttons to navigate to the option that says “install zip from sdcard.”
7. Press the home button to select.
8. Use the home button to select “choose zip from sdcard.”
9. Use the volume keys to navigate to the file you want. If it’s in the root directory of your SD card, just scroll down until you find it and then press the home button. If not, navigate to the folder you want, press home to enter the folder, and then press home to select the update-cm-7.1.0-tenderloin-a3-fullofbugs-signed.zip file.
10. Once you’ve selected the ZIP file, scroll down with the volume buttons until you get to “Yes.”
11. Press the home button to apply the update.
12. After Alpha 3 is finished installing, you can use the volume buttons to scroll down to “Go Back” and keep pressing it until you see the option to “reboot system now” and press the home button to reboot.

You should also be able to set the HP TouchPad up as a dual boot tablet, allowing you to select the Android or WebOS features at start-up.

Expect some changes and improvements over the coming months but as of right now, us lucky few have scored an Android touchpad for only $99.

Stay tuned for a video of the install, which we will be doing shortly.

Enjoy!
Adam.

There is a lot of new Home Theatre products coming out to help make viewing all of your media on your TV so easy your mum can do it. We know what it’s like to be inundated with computer hassles so we’re here to help you streamline your needs and get you up and running in no time. Watch recorded TV, Live TV, as well as Photos and Music, right from the comfort of your couch.

My name is Michael (known around these parts as Mr. T) and I am the newest member of the Warcom team. I have the privilege today of making my first blog post! I’ts great to have the opportunity to be part of this team with all the exciting advancements we are making here (aside from just hiring me of course).

After checking out the Boxee HTPC OS a little while ago I was excited to hear about the introduction of D-Link’s new Boxee box. With the addition of setting up a US VPN you can tap into things we’ve yet to see here in Australia. Check out our guide here for more info on how you can view HULU and NETFLIX on your TV now! For all of you Apple fans out there you can also get Boxee on your iPad.

I’ve accepted the task looking after one of my favorite sections, Home Theatre.  If you are serious about your TV/ Media integration, you have come to the right place. Keep an eye out for some great new gadgets and tips to streamline your viewing pleasure. You’re probably aware of the great, ready to go systems from AverMedia, Asus, Western Digital and  feature packed Boxee box from D-Link, but if you’re more a DIY person we’ve got everything you need to build something just as powerful. From All in one Remote Controls to HDTV tuners if you are looking for a great deal give us a call and let us help you out.

We will have a few new announcements to bring you in the future including some exciting new products we’re adding to our range. Many of you know us best as the “Network Know It All’s” and we’re keeping true to that name with a whole new look on Networking gear! I hope to bring you many more posts in the future, so keep hitting that F5 key so you don’t miss a thing.

So lately I have been wanting a Gopro to go with my new Go kart, My new DRZ400sm and for when I go up to the snow and start snowboarding for the first time since I had a knee reco. If you have read our blog you will notice that the Warcom team are very adventurous and love the outdoors.

The GoPro HD 960 ticks all the boxes for what I need, except price. The price is a bit steep for something I just want to record some fun memories to share with my friends/work mates and even Warcom customers.

I managed to pickup a Cisco Flip Mino 3rd gen fairly cheap, As the price now is much cheaper than it was a year or 2 ago and is now in a totally different price bracket to the GoPro. I was pretty happy with the purchase, but after a few planned mods it will be a total outdoor warrior.

A few things to note about the Flip. New 3rd gen (current model) now has some really decent image stabilization. So for things like mounting to a car or motorbike it will dramatically increase the video quality. It also has a preview screen, so you can see what you are videoing and preview stuff that you already shoot. Great if u want to try cut out some bad videos (Or if u stack and you dont want anyone to kn0w)

The BIG thing I prefer about the Flip is that for about $150 less (Yeah, the Gopro is pretty expensive here in Australia) is that the Flip can do 720 @60fps where the Gopro 960 only 30fps. This really makes for much smoother videos.

Currently the Flip mino 3rd gen is priced at about $125. A total Bargain!

Things you need to make the Flip AWESOME:

Flip camera (Mino or Ultra, 3rd gen because this one is the good one!)
Video Action Tripod – Can mount the flip to basically anything. Durable and lots of mounting options.
180 Degree magnetic mount fisheye lens – Basically mounts via a magnetic clip to Flip cameras, iPhone, Android and more! This is the big upgrade with the Flip. It increases the FOV and even makes the video slightly sharper.

The above video is just to show you what it can be like, Obviously he’s used a length of PVC pipe as a home made monopod. The Monopod gives it a cool third person look and also aids in stabilization of the video.

Theres also other cheaper ways of moding a fisheye onto the Flip, Including gluing one of those door peep holes to the back of it. This would only cost about $5 but id imagine that the optics would be sub par compared to a dedicated lens built for the Flip. If you want to find some of these tutorials head over to google, theres literally hundreds of them.

My personal Flip!

Now lets have a quick look into the specs of the Cisco Flip Mino HD 3rd Gen vs the GoPro HD 960.

Resolution
GoPro: 1280 x 720 (30fps), 848 x 480 (60 fps)
Flip: 1280 x 720 (60fps) Also does lower res, but who wants lower res?

Lens
GoPro: Fixed focus f/2.8 170º Wide angle
Flip: Fixed focus f/2.4 180º wide angle with fisheye mod - Slightly better in low light, and slightly more FOV.

Battery:
GoPro: Rechargeable 1100mAh Lithium-Ion battery, approx 2.5 hours recording
Flip: Internal Lithium-ion Rechargeable Battery, 1.5 hrs of use between charges

Not a lot in it between these two. I think the Flip wins on price and the 60fps 720 HD.

In the end, I’m pretty happy with this. I bought it because I didn’t want to take my DSLR into places where it could potentially get dropped, Ruining $1000 of camera and $800 of lens (Really depending what lens i take) so for $125+a small amount for a fisheye lens im pretty happy.