- Joined
- Feb 7, 2004
- Messages
- 1,207
Every once in a while I come across a new gadget that makes me feel happy about how technology is advancing. For me this is definitely one.
If you have a computer you have a lot of music and probably some pictures and video on your computer. You also probably have a stereo and TV or a home theater system or something with much better quality than on a PC.
It sure would be nice to listen to that music on your good stereo and watch the videos and pictures on you home theater system, away from the computer, without having to add wiring, right?
The idea and technology have been mixing around for a while now but things are coming together, moving it from bleeding edge to becoming usable and dependable and affordable.
Here is what I came up with, and for under $200 including the wireless router.
First is the device itself, a D-Link MediaLounge DSM-520. It is the component that sits with the stereo and TV. It is a network device that also has all of the regular connections out, and also optical audio and HDMI. Here it is:
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=438&sec=0
Second is a wireless router. Most people already have one, and any reliable one will be fine. It gives network connectivity between the receiver and the computer(s) and drive(s). I use a cheap but solid Buffalo: http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=438&sec=0
Finally, and this is the last piece of the puzzle, is the server software to allow everything to work effectively together. The server software that comes with media receivers is junk. Orb is a little better, but TVersity is FAST and STABLE. Currently I have over 19,000 audio files, over 100 DVDs, and countless pictures on hard drives. TVersity serves and browses these just fine. It is also open source:
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=438&sec=0
Put them together and the result is being able to enjoy everything available to the upstairs computer on my downstairs entertainment system.
Chris
If you have a computer you have a lot of music and probably some pictures and video on your computer. You also probably have a stereo and TV or a home theater system or something with much better quality than on a PC.
It sure would be nice to listen to that music on your good stereo and watch the videos and pictures on you home theater system, away from the computer, without having to add wiring, right?
The idea and technology have been mixing around for a while now but things are coming together, moving it from bleeding edge to becoming usable and dependable and affordable.
Here is what I came up with, and for under $200 including the wireless router.
First is the device itself, a D-Link MediaLounge DSM-520. It is the component that sits with the stereo and TV. It is a network device that also has all of the regular connections out, and also optical audio and HDMI. Here it is:
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=438&sec=0
Second is a wireless router. Most people already have one, and any reliable one will be fine. It gives network connectivity between the receiver and the computer(s) and drive(s). I use a cheap but solid Buffalo: http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=438&sec=0
Finally, and this is the last piece of the puzzle, is the server software to allow everything to work effectively together. The server software that comes with media receivers is junk. Orb is a little better, but TVersity is FAST and STABLE. Currently I have over 19,000 audio files, over 100 DVDs, and countless pictures on hard drives. TVersity serves and browses these just fine. It is also open source:
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=438&sec=0
Put them together and the result is being able to enjoy everything available to the upstairs computer on my downstairs entertainment system.
Chris