PC to hi fi and tv set up

[chilliwin]

Hi all,

First off here's what I have :

At present I have no hi fi to speak of (Ipod classic through cheap dock/speaker). I plug a portable hard disk containing my films/tv series into WDTV Live and HDMI to a Panasonic Plasma. I don't want a 5.1 etc system (too many boxes and cables). I have Virgin Tivo for tv. I use a mixture of Logitech Harmony 300 remote/K400 keyboard and the WDTV remote for control. Main lounge 15 x 14 feet, open plan to dining room (part walled, archway kinda deal) 10 x 10 feet. I plan to have the new Desktop PC in the Diner and connect (drill through "part wall") to TV/Audio gear in lounge (about a 2.5 meter run).

Here's what I'd like :

I'm looking to upgrade. I'd like a decent 2 channel hi fi again, my source will be my PC music library (mostly at 320kbps). I'm thinking a soundbar to give the film/tv watching a little kick. What I'd really enjoy is being able to control everything in a "cool couch potato" way ! One remote/tablet/thingy to control everything from turning the right bits of hardware on/off to choosing what I want to listen to/watch.

Things have moved on alot since my last foray ! I've done some research but still find some things confusing. Is this going to work, are there better ways of doing things, should I consider NAS, is one control possible or will I need two, is this a moderately sensible set-up ?

For music : Desktop PC running JRiver via usb to Rega Dac/Brio-R + speakers (shortlisted a few kef/PMC/B&W)

Ipod classic into Pure i20 into Dac etc (just for a cheapish alternate way to control things/leave Ipod on shuffle)

For TV/film : Desktop PC running JRiver (with portable hard drive containing films attatched) HDMI cable to TV via Phillips HTL9100

For control : Nexus 7 running Gizmo and/or Harmony Ultimate One.

Thanks for reading my ramblings and in advance for any advice

 

[iMark]

It sounds a bit complicated. But I can tell you what kind of setup we have. (You can see the list of equipment used in my sig)

Heart of the system is the stereo receiver and the DAC.

- Optical cable from TV to DAC

- Bluray player and DVR both with HDMI to TV

- Airport Express with optical cable to DAC

- Analogue cable from Bluray player to stereo receiver for SACD and Bluray audio playback

- 2 speakers in main listening area and 2 speakers in kitchen, switchable on receiver and via remote (nice touch on the Yamaha).

- Logitech remote controls all sound and vision except for switching inputs on the DAC.

- iPad to remotely control iTunes, the library is stored in another room on a Mac Mini.

In our case, TV and stereo mix very well and when you already have a stereo it seems silly to invest in things like soundbars.

We very much like the setup. It means we get the best audio quality when we watch anything on the TV. The Logitech remote makes switching between sources incredibly easy. Even the Mrs. thinks it's one of the best gadgets I've ever bought.

There are some other bits and bobs connected to the receiver (record player, minidisc deck) but I don't they matter much for the overall principle.

We use iTunes Home Sharing rather than a NAS. i have found it very easy to set up. The Mrs. can listen to music from the library on her laptop upstairs. There is however one major problem with Home Sharing. Since iOS 7 iPhones and iPads can't access large libraries. This is a bug in iOS 7 because it works fine on our old iPad running iOS 5.1.1. Apparently this has to do with accessing the XML-file of iTunes which contains all the details of the library.