Tech Jawa > Live Stream

For those of you that do not know, Perfect Dark releases tomorrow on the XBox Live Arcade. It has been remastered in 1080p at 60 frames per second and will now boast 2-8 player multiplayer online play. Which if you love the classics you’ll love this because IT’S PERFECT DARK! To celebrate its’ launch and give a little back to the members of our community, on Livestream tomorrow, I will be streaming it live for all to see from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm join us and at the end of the stream I will pick one lucky winner to receive a free 1600 Point XBox Live Microsoft Marketplace code.

You MUST be present at the end of the stream, and you must be active throughout the stream by chatting. We will randomly select an active participant at the end (7:30PM EST) to receive the point’s card.

Our stream is located at http://www.techjawa.tv/

Well this is exactly what we were trying to get donations for. I’ve sold some personal property as well, and was able to front some of the cash to purchase the card itself. It should be here, in all it’s glory, on Friday this week, or Monday next week!

We still need donations, so please feel free to keep them coming (go to the “Live” page to find the donate button). We still need more hardware and cabling that is just too expensive for our staff members right now.

Once all is said and done, the setup should follow this flowchat exactly. (Click for a larger view)

Once we continue collecting donations, we should be able to purchase the other remaining components and start streaming our HD consoles and even capturing some moments in HD for posting on sites like YouTube.

I will be sure to photo/video document the unboxing and installation of the Intensity Pro card, and let you all know how it works.

There has been some doubt about it working on my X58 architecture board, but some forum goers have said it shouldn’t be an issue. Blackmagic’s official take on it is “not supported” but the retailer I purchased from allows a 30 day grace period for money-back returns. If this setup doesn’t work, there are other (slightly more expensive) solutions we will strive for. I’m fairly certain this should go off without a hitch  though.

I’ve recently gotten into HD Streaming using an Intensity Pro Capture Unit by Blackmagic-Design. I ran into a problem as most people do with these types of things, portability. I want to be able to take my streaming/capturing abilities with me on the go if needed. How to solve this dilemma? Well building a MicroATX rig is the way I planned on doing it. Until I saw Will Urbina’s Xbox modification where he practically shoved a whole Mac Pro into a regular Xbox. I’m going to attempt to do the same thing but… With differences. I don’t need this to be a full fledged computer capable of editing what I capture/stream or have an over abundance of power. Thus I’m stripping it down to the bare essentials of what I find necessary to have this rig operate normally. So what will this rig consist of? I’m opting out for a Mini ITX Motherboard it’s going to save me 3 inches (6.7” x 6.7” opposed to 9.6” x 9.6”) and has the x4500HD onboard video chipset.

• Intel BOXDG45FC LGA 775 Intel G45 Mini ITX Motherboard
• Athena Power AP-MP4ATX55FEP8 550W MicroATX Power Supply
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 Yorkfield 2.5 GHz LGA 775 95W Processor
• G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 RAM
• Western Digital Scorpio Black 320GB 7200 RPM 2.5” SATA HDD
• MASSCOOL 80mm Case Fan
• Intensity Pro Capture Unit

Modding this case is going to require one major detail; the ability to easily remove the capturing unit when necessary is a must. Unfortunately right now I don’t have the funds necessary to purchase a SECOND Intensity Pro, so until I do I’m going to have to give myself the option of removing it so I can swap between computers. What will save me a ton in terms of necessary power is the fact I’m going to use Windows XP 64-Bit. This will ensure none of my resources will go to waste. Stay tuned for more info, pictures, and even a time lapse as this project unfolds and takes shape.

Update edit: I decided to drop the DVD ROM and just install my OS once I have the components in hand and remove it, seeing as I have no use for it. Also I updated to a 320 GB HDD as it was only 5 dollars more than the 250 GB. I ran into a dilemma with the height of the card exceeding the height of the XBox casing. Thankfully due to my half brained idea and Corey’s ability to find what I’m talking about, we found a PCI-E x1 extender which will allow me to put the card in horizontally and thus leave the box (for the most part) unmodded. The parts should arrive mid week where I can map my process on how to set this up in a more proficient manner.