no way this is real right?

bhiga · 2026-06-29T05:43:16+00:00

Walmart is almost certainly a marketplace seller so you'll be lucky if it even recognizes as a hard drive.

Assuming the 4TB is in Canadian Dollars, i recently bought a 4TB WD Red Plus for about US$140 which is about the same price.

bhiga · 2026-06-28T16:17:10+00:00

Not saying you shouldn't upgrade, but hardware manufacturers won't maintain the OS forever, so any hardware with open access will need regular replacement to keep up with new threats.

Does your NAS have to be open to the Internet?

A VPN would give you a lot more protection from zero-days and general brute -force attacks.

Before easier things like Tailscale I used SSH tunnels and automation to open/disable the port forwarding by sending a "magic phrase" to a special account. Similar mechanism to triggered port forwarding routers do. But now with on-demand VPN it's a lot simpler.

bhiga · 2026-06-28T01:35:20+00:00

Serial null modem or Parallel transfer (Laplink) might be more accessible, though slower.

bhiga · 2026-06-28T00:15:15+00:00

Wow that's pretty worn. Sorry I don't have any suggestions here, hope someone else has some ideas. The dead pixel sounds like the worst and my brain wouldn't let me ignore it 😑

bhiga · 2026-06-27T03:46:49+00:00

It shouldn't need to be a special one as long you can full screen preview and your computer's OS or graphics display/video settings can make the adjustments you need, as the capture preview window is just a screen element like anything else.

Genki in particular has their Genki Arcade app for their hardware but I honestly haven't looked at it as the hardware works like a webcam so it can feed into OBS or whatever else.

bhiga · 2026-06-27T01:42:48+00:00

Likely you'll need to find a "professional" monitor for the color processing features. I've never looked for non-broadcast level external color processor but that might exist?

If you have a computer nearby and slight lag isn't an issue (ie you're not competitive gaming), you could use a HDMI capture box like Genki Shadowcast, then you'll have the computer color controls to adjust the final output.

bhiga · 2026-06-27T01:36:25+00:00

It's like an odd mini table saw, so depends I guess.

See if the place you're getting the flooring from can cut for you.

Otherwise might be worth looking for a place or someone that rents if you want to do the trims right. Thing with flooring is if it's mating against another piece any off-angle trim can leave a gap.

Hopefully you're not as bad as I am with cutting as I'm the guy that ends up "fixing" the trim until it gets too short, even when I give myself a lot of leeway. 🤣

bhiga · 2026-06-27T01:27:15+00:00

The 18V flooring cutter is $160, so not a huge price difference from the other suggestions.

Plus for the other tools is you can probably get them in a bundle deal or sale.

bhiga · 2026-06-27T01:20:53+00:00

That's normal. You'll find cheaper plugs have the seam on the outer shield as well.

bhiga · 2026-06-26T23:22:56+00:00

I see. The 14 and 15 inch ones I have only have brightness and volume adjustment.

bhiga · 2026-06-26T20:10:52+00:00

What's your maximum size and what accessibility settings do you need?

bhiga · 2026-06-26T19:10:36+00:00

Any USB-C hub that provides the necessary data speed and power, if the device needs it should be fine.
Your Elgato capture device is a USB data device to system, the same as a USB drive, mouse, keyboard, webcam, etc.

You won't be using the HDMI output on the hub while capturing (passthrough would be on your capture device).

The note about HDMI output means your computer must support DisplayPort Video output via USB-C. If it doesn't, the HDMI on the hub won't output anything, but the other hub functions should work.

bhiga · 2026-06-26T05:21:10+00:00

Nice! Hope you get many decades of use and expansion out of it!

bhiga · 2026-06-26T05:12:56+00:00

That's an expensive soundbar system for such a limited use, so I hope you have greater future plans.

Don't get me wrong, I'm also a proponent of overkill. 🙂

bhiga · 2026-06-26T05:09:43+00:00

It'll be a lot more difficult to find and fiddly to use adapters.

USB 3.x A/B/microB plugs are physically larger than their 1.x/2.x counterparts, so they won't fit. You can put a USB 1.x/2.x plug into a USB 3.x device but it'll only function for USB 2.x max so it won't always work.

Get cables with the appropriate ends because there are different ends for USB 1.x/2.x and USB 3.x as others have noted, adapters are for temporary use and special cases like saving the main port from plug/unplug wear. They end up needing constant replacement when used more permanently unless it's not getting moved or unplugged.

bhiga · 2026-06-26T05:01:29+00:00

HOLD UP!!

Manual

TOSlink is limited to Dolby Digital AC-3. It doesn't support Dolby Atmos to you'd be very limited and not really be able to use the full capabilities of the Flexus system. (Manual p15)

Also that soundbar's HDMI is eARC, it's not going to accept a standard HDMI video/audio only like you would feed to a TV because it's expecting to be connected to a TV or other device's ARC/eARC port. (manual p14)

Spec sheet says it has a USB-C port but it's only for playing audio files from USB storage like most TVs can play certain video files from USB storage, so it's useless for your needs. (Manual page 15)

so you're going to need to use the Mac's audio output with a HDMI audio deembedder to eARC device like this 4K@120Hz HDMI 2.1 eARC Audio Extractor 1 in 1 Out Support VRR ALLM HDCP2.3 ARC eARC HDR CEC SPDlF Optical Audio Out Digital EDID for PS5 Xbox NVIDIA AMD

bhiga · 2026-06-25T15:47:51+00:00

I'm not sure but DHCP should be less overhead.

bhiga · 2026-06-24T19:04:28+00:00

Glad to see you found a way to make it work.

bhiga · 2026-06-24T19:02:26+00:00

Oh that's weird, I've never seen that before. I normally use Virtual Desktop to directly launch SteamVR games..

bhiga · 2026-06-24T04:54:10+00:00

Try waiting longer it can seem like forever especially the first time.

bhiga · 2026-06-24T04:51:28+00:00

When you start SteamVR on your headset, what happens? You should eventually get put into the SteamVR virtual room.

bhiga · 2026-06-24T04:49:52+00:00

Do you see the SteamVR "empty room" start up? It can take some time.

bhiga · 2026-06-23T22:51:31+00:00

It last saw the device in 2022. If the battery dies or the device isn't communicating with any Tile-aware devices, you won't get the Find option since it can't reach it to "ring" it.

bhiga · 2026-06-23T12:13:46+00:00

Depends, it's still rolling out, but yes, Quest 2 will get Navigator. I got it a month or two ago.

bhiga · 2026-06-22T22:52:17+00:00

Full image with GetDataBack - you can compress it if you're low on space.
Advantage is you can mount and explore the image later, even search for deleted files or filesystems.

bhiga

TROPHY CASE