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New member Username: JeromebBay Area, CA USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Mar-04 | I am interested in whole home audio (about 6 listening zones). This is new construction with plans for a wired computer network. Most systems for independent audio zone control are very pricy and/or complex (Arrakis DC-6, Zon audio, Fireball). I have settled for whole home single audio, with only volume control with IR capability at each zone (vol/IR switch). Background: I plan to primarily listen to CD music, and do not need video to multiple sources. I would like to store all my CDs on a computer in my home theater (e.g. on a Gateway FMC-901X (musicmatch) connected to an A/V receiver). I would plan on turning on the receiver remotely using vol/IR switch in a remote zone. Then I could use a remote computer to select my Musicmatch playlist and play. Is it reasonable to remotely access my music on my server and play it onto a home audio network? Is there a better way? I initially considered Onkyo's 901/500 Net-Tune, but on other discussion groups all I hear about is trouble. Most of you are thinking, if you are building a house, for crying out loud, spend some money and do it right. Problem is that a bathroom redo turned into a complete gut job, including foundation, roof, exterior etc. and I have no money left. Only bright side is by digging out the basement I get to put in a home theater. Is this totally lame? Be kind. Any help would be greatly appreciated. -jb |
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Silver Member Username: HeffPost Number: 103 Registered: Dec-03 | Were you going to transfer all your CD's to a format readable by musicmatch? Perhaps a CD changer would be easier? The new ones accept 400 CD's and can control a second unit for 800 total CD's. By planning ahead and wiring your rooms for multimedia before your walls are finished, you'll save money you can use for other goodies. How much were you planning to invest? Denon's NS-S100 Multimedia server and NS-C200 Multimedia client look promising. Check it out! ----------------------- Press Release; Fresh Gear Best of CES 2004 Winner |
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New member Username: JeromebBay Area, CA USA Post Number: 3 Registered: Mar-04 | Dear Heff, Thanks for the info as Denon's all-in-one NS-S100 looks very nice. However, I assume it is essentially a PC much like the Gateway Family Media center 901. Both systems simply store your multimedia data and allow access to these data. Since my house will be networked, I would be able to access all the CD's stored on the hard drive, from any computer in the house. The Denon NS-S100 and C200 do essentially the same thing as a computer network. My dilemma revolves around remote access to the music data from a room which does not have a computer. Thus the use of speaker volume knobs with IR controllers. But it seems there are many ways to address this problem. Thanks, -jb |
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Eric Unregistered guest | If you have a tv in the room you want to listen to your CD's you can put in a Linksys Media adapter. This will let you play your mp3's from your computer once you hook it into an amp. Your selection is done from the TV. Mine is working with XP on my computer. |
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tmworkman Unregistered guest | There are several other devices that will work. The iCube play@tv unit is either cat 5 or wireless. The MediaMVP by Soundblaster is wireless. If you cat 5 wire these it will work great for MP3's, home video or compressed video, but you need a TV. It sounds like your setup will only play one device at a time. If you hooked a DVD changer to your Windows Media PC you could load it with CD's and DVD's and access them all through cat 5 at the TV point with the use of any of the above mentioned devices. |
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New member Username: DonsrantzPost Number: 2 Registered: Mar-04 | I'm doing something similar in the new house I'm building. I will be installing a Marantz SR-7400 in my main listening room (6.1) which has a multiroom stereo line-level output. I'll be feeding this output into an older Marantz 2265B to drive SpeakerCraft speakers in 6 other rooms. I plan to use the GoVideo D2730 to network my PC's multimedia files into my AV system. It comes with software for your PC that can deliver mp3, jpeg and other multimedia files to your AV system. |
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New member Username: JeromebBay Area, CA USA Post Number: 4 Registered: Mar-04 | Don, Your setup sounds sweet. What is the advantage of the GoVideo system? Since I am just getting up to speed on this stuff I am wondering, can't you simply hook your PC output directly into the receiver to play your MP3 music? Depending on your video card, I presume you can even send your video/DVD data straight to your A/V system. Thanks, -jb |
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New member Username: DonsrantzPost Number: 3 Registered: Mar-04 | The GoVideo D2730 is a DVD player that I'll be installing in the main AV listening room, connected directly to the Marantz SR-7400. The D2730 comes with a 100MB Ethernet card that I plan to connect to my PC located in another room via CAT-5 wiring. On the PC, will be GoVideo software that comes with the player. Once connected, I can stay in the AV room and stream mp3, jpg, mpeg, and several other file formats from my PC to my AV system. Optionally, you can purchase a wireless Ethernet card for the GoVideo D2730 to avoid the need for the Cat-5 cabling. Due to security, performance and other factors, I plan to utilize the Cat-5 approach for now. So, you get both audio and video streams via your home network. |