What hardware do I need?

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Not quite sure which forum to post this under but i think this is the nearest to what I want to ask.

I've always been a traditional kind of guy. I Put CD's in my Cd player to listen to music via my hi-fi and I put dvd's (blu-rays now) in my dvd player (blu-ray player now) to watch movies.

After much deliberation I think the way forward for me may be the convienience of storing all my media on some kind of "box" (I'm assuming a huge hard disc?)

I like the idea of accessing a screen, browsing through all of my music library, and all my movies (is this possible). Also like the idea of listening to music in different rooms in the house.

I don't think I want the hassle of putting discs into boxes. I want to select something and listen to it, or watch it (if its possible with movies).

I'm guessing I need a storage device of some kind, a file server to send the media....errrr....somewhere, a front-end so i can see & interact with it. I know there is a wealth of stuff out there (sonos boxes, nasrippers or *** rassers???, itunes, windows media galleries, multi media PC's, etc, etc).

So from the beginning what hardware would I need to achieve this and what are my constraints and limitations?
 
Ok maybe I phrased the requirement badly. Please allow me to re-phrase.

1) Is there anyone out there who stores all their music on a computer and accesses it via Itunes or Windows Media Player or something else, then listens to the music on decent quality loudspeakers?

2) Is there anyone out there who stores all their films on a computer, then watches the films via their home cinema system?

If the answer is yes to either of the above what hardware and software do you use?

I am also interested in the advantages & disadvantages of such an approach.
 
1. Yup - Apple Mac with iTunes with Airport Express going into a DacMagic going into a pair of Epoz AkitMates, another Airport Express in the kitchen connected into a pair of Audioengine A2s and another Airport Express connected into Onkyo home cinema amp and B&W 685s in lounge. All controlled remotely using iPod Touch.

Advantages - easy to access all my music from anywhere with the Touch and gives me a multiroom music system.

Disadvantages - Mac needs to be on to access music, but then it's normally on anyway.

2. Yup, I have a Buffalo Terastation NAS which stores some films and TV shows I've recorded off TV (don't download anything) and this is accessed via my PS3. If I wanted, I could store the film within iTunes as well and use the PS3 to access them, but I don't. No idea why not to be honest but then I don't really use this much any more as I tend to just buy the Blu-Ray if there's a film I want.

Advantages - because stuff is on the NAS, Mac doesn't have to be switched on to access this. Very good if you're hungover and too lazy to even get off the sofa.

Disadvantages - Bit of a pain getting stuff recorded off TV in the correct format to watch via the PS3, but it's not too much hassle.
 
barnsleydave:
Ok maybe I phrased the requirement badly. Please allow me to re-phrase.

1) Is there anyone out there who stores all their music on a computer and accesses it via Itunes or Windows Media Player or something else, then listens to the music on decent quality loudspeakers?

2) Is there anyone out there who stores all their films on a computer, then watches the films via their home cinema system?

If the answer is yes to either of the above what hardware and software do you use?

I am also interested in the advantages & disadvantages of such an approach.

I do exactly this. And I have another alternative.

My system works through a Media Center Extender (Linksys DMA2100). For music it is fantastic, for movies it's ok. The positives are I get a fantastic 1080p picture on my screen with a mirrored version (looks wise) of my media center on my pc. The remote control flies through the menu and the sound is fantastic through my DacMagic. You can watch and record tv through the extender. The negatives. Well, I have to have my pc switched on (not a problem for me) whilst using the extender - it only has to be on, it can still be used and doesn't have to be on a particular page or anything. Not all video files that can be played on the full media center can be played on the extender.

Another alternative, which I might buy for movies only is the Western Digital 1080p media player. This is a fantastic little device which is about 4 inches square and 2 inches tall. No pc needed in the equation, just a hard drive. The player itself costs just £70 and you can add two external hard drives at a time. Plug and play. The device plays any music or video file, including FLAC, all lossless codecs in fact, MKV, Vob, AVI, MPEG4, Divx.... 1080p through hdmi. The only negative I can think of is that the GUI isn't as nice as my extender. However, the fact that you can take it on holiday, connect it to a tv and watch all your films is a joy! I've recently set this up for my Dad and he has a small 160gb WD passport drive which just sits on top of the player. No noise from it and it does the job superbly. To add films or music, you just take the hard drive to your pc, drag and drop and then connect up again.
 
Another yep here too.

I store movies and music on a spare PC in our Study. I then have a very short wireless hope from the study to a switch/router in the lounge.

1. I use a Squeezebox Duet for music. It is connected to my amps while the companion software is installed on the PC.
Pros: Fantastic Remote; Easily expandable to all rooms with a wide variety of devices; Supports FLAC lossless format; Internet Radio;
Cons: Getting all the devices (software, duet and remote) to sync initially can involve many retries and a little black magic; Cost is still a little steep; Doesn't support video.

2. I use my XBox360 for video files. It is happy to use a shared network folder - I don't store media on it directly. This is attached to the Yamaha Amp.
Pros: Flexible with file storage sources; Supports most common video formats; Easy if a little long winded to use; Plays games!
Cons: Only lossless audio support for WMA's; Noisy if playing discs locally;

Generally I'm very happy with this setup. The PC I use I've planned for media use so it uses quiet fans etc but that's kind of irrelevant as it sits on another floor altogether. I would consider a NAS device as a simpler, smaller solution but it's not cost effective when I've so many old PC's lying around the place!
For a first timer a NAS from Netgear with the Squeezebox server installed is a great option. Just be sure you don't spend so much on it you could have bought a Sonus system instead 🙂
 
Gerrardasnails:barnsleydave:
Ok maybe I phrased the requirement badly. Please allow me to re-phrase.

1) Is there anyone out there who stores all their music on a computer and accesses it via Itunes or Windows Media Player or something else, then listens to the music on decent quality loudspeakers?

2) Is there anyone out there who stores all their films on a computer, then watches the films via their home cinema system?

If the answer is yes to either of the above what hardware and software do you use?

I am also interested in the advantages & disadvantages of such an approach.

I do exactly this. And I have another alternative.

My system works through a Media Center Extender (Linksys DMA2100). For music it is fantastic, for movies it's ok. The positives are I get a fantastic 1080p picture on my screen with a mirrored version (looks wise) of my media center on my pc. The remote control flies through the menu and the sound is fantastic through my DacMagic. You can watch and record tv through the extender. The negatives. Well, I have to have my pc switched on (not a problem for me) whilst using the extender - it only has to be on, it can still be used and doesn't have to be on a particular page or anything. Not all video files that can be played on the full media center can be played on the extender.

Another alternative, which I might buy for movies only is the Western Digital 1080p media player. This is a fantastic little device which is about 4 inches square and 2 inches tall. No pc needed in the equation, just a hard drive. The player itself costs just £70 and you can add two external hard drives at a time. Plug and play. The device plays any music or video file, including FLAC, all lossless codecs in fact, MKV, Vob, AVI, MPEG4, Divx.... 1080p through hdmi. The only negative I can think of is that the GUI isn't as nice as my extender. However, the fact that you can take it on holiday, connect it to a tv and watch all your films is a joy! I've recently set this up for my Dad and he has a small 160gb WD passport drive which just sits on top of the player. No noise from it and it does the job superbly. To add films or music, you just take the hard drive to your pc, drag and drop and then connect up again.

I should have added that, the extender I use (and paid £150 for - originally £200), can now be got for £50! And I have no problems syncing it to my pc.
 
Slightly different tack. Music is easy, loads of options out there, many of which are covered above (though reading above Airport Express and Apple TV are notable by their absence, shame on you guys
emotion-5.gif
). My question would be how much you want to store and watch movies centrally. In my experience this is much more of a hassle than it's worth (though doing it certainly has an 'ooo' factor when your mates come round), and unless you want to watch all your DVDs over and over again, and furthermore have six months months of your life spare to rip them all (illegally) into a media library, I wouldn't bother.
 
JohnDuncan:Slightly different tack. Music is easy, loads of options out there, many of which are covered above (though reading above Airport Express and Apple TV are notable by their absence, shame on you guys
emotion-5.gif
). My question would be how much you want to store and watch movies centrally. In my experience this is much more of a hassle than it's worth (though doing it certainly has an 'ooo' factor when your mates come round), and unless you want to watch all your DVDs over and over again, and furthermore have six months months of your life spare to rip them all (illegally) into a media library, I wouldn't bother.

Fair point.
Most of my media is ripped versions of my CD's. We're happy to buy DVD's in the most part so I've invested in a blue-ray player for that next step (hopefully 1st try tonight!!). If I buy movies and vids online (Red vs Blue comes to mind) I prefer to store them on the PC to free up the XBox's limited hard drive for gaming use.

It's worth noting a number of Blue-ray releases are available as triple-play (Blue-ray/DVD/Media File) in one box. The file versions, although usually in Standard-def it seems, can be centrally stored and delivered to your various devices. Of course primary use would be for mobile devices like laptops away from home.

The only thing I want to rip is old TV shows from VHS but frankly it takes too long for me to be bothered and we've a perfectly decent SVHS player to hand if needed *sighs*
 
Gerrardasnails:....I might buy for movies only is the Western Digital 1080p media player.....
Why movies only? No good for music?
 
Thank you guys. The more I think about it, the more I think that storing movies on a hard disk will be more trouble than its worth. I considered it while I was searching for disk 3 of 7 of prison break and trying to remember what episode we were up to. I thought wouldn't it be great if i had band of brothers, all 4 series of prison break, all 7 series of 24, planet earth, etc etc, all as easily accessible as a recorded sky+ program. But the more I think about it, the more I question just how often I would watch them and its really not that difficult is it to just put a disc in (although the western digital media player does sound interesting)

This brings me on to music. Please allow me to para-phrase to confirm my understand of what you are saying.

1) Expensive option - Sonos system. If money was no object would this be the one to go for or does it have limitations too? (money is an object just in case you were wondering)
professorhat:
1. Yup - Apple Mac with iTunes with
Airport Express going into a DacMagic going into a pair of Epoz
AkitMates, another Airport Express in the kitchen connected into a pair
of Audioengine A2s and another Airport Express connected into Onkyo
home cinema amp and B&W 685s in lounge. All controlled remotely
using iPod Touch.

Advantages - easy to access all my music from anywhere with the Touch and gives me a multiroom music system.

Disadvantages - Mac needs to be on to access music, but then it's normally on anyway.

I like the sound of this as I have a Mac. So are we saying that we need a pair of active speakers in each room i want to hear music in, but no amp (as the speakers are active), with the exception of the lounge where I can use my home cinema amp and speakers. All I need is airport express to attach to the active speakers and in the case of the lounge to the AV amp?

Prof - you mentioned you have a dac (the dacmagic) going from airport express on your mac into your active Epoz Akitmates. Is this just to get better sound in that one room? Would it work without the Dac? Would a Dac in each room give better quality? Sorry if I'm sounding a bit thick. Just want to understand the role the DAC plays and why you only have one.

Gerrard - the Linksys DMA2100 sounds very good too. I will google this some more and see what I find.

Oh and JD - the prof did mention airport express as you can see
emotion-1.gif
 
Amazing what you find when you look for it.

http://whathifi.com/Video/Discover-networked-media/Vidcasts/
 
barnsleydave:I like the sound of this as I have a Mac. So are we saying that we need a pair of active speakers in each room i want to hear music in, but no amp (as the speakers are active), with the exception of the lounge where I can use my home cinema amp and speakers. All I need is airport express to attach to the active speakers and in the case of the lounge to the AV amp?

Yup, that's it.

barnsleydave:Prof - you mentioned you have a dac (the dacmagic) going from airport express on your mac into your active Epoz Akitmates. Is this just to get better sound in that one room? Would it work without the Dac? Would a Dac in each room give better quality? Sorry if I'm sounding a bit thick. Just want to understand the role the DAC plays and why you only have one.

Yup, the DacMagic is in the office purely to improve the sound through the Epoz speakers, I ran it without one for quite a while. I tend to do most of my music listening in the office now so this is why there is one in here. In the living room, I connect the AE to my Onkyo amp using an optical cable so I'm using the Onkyo's DAC which is good enough. I could potentially add in a DAC to improve it but, to be honest, the main reason for it being in there is for parties and the like where I have music going in all three rooms. If I do any serious listening in the living room, I tend to play CDs.

I don't have one in the kitchen as I don't think it really needs it - it's there to have music while cooking and the like so sound quality isn't a big factor there really. The AE unit itself is actually pretty good in its own considering how much it costs.
 
PJPro:Gerrardasnails:....I might buy for movies only is the Western Digital 1080p media player.....
Why movies only? No good for music?

No, music is very good too, just that I'm really happy how my system works on the music front. The WD does 24bit, FLAC, wav, everything, through optical. The GUI is not as good though.
 
I quite like the idea of these boxes. It would mean that I could play tunes without using the PS3 (noisy brute) and having to have the PC on. Think I might have a punt.
 
PJPro:I quite like the idea of these boxes. It would mean that I could play tunes without using the PS3 (noisy brute) and having to have the PC on. Think I might have a punt.

Take a look at the Western Digital ones here - i like the idea of attaching a USB drive and off you go (though haven't seen the UI, dunno if it'd give my Apple TV a run for its money)...
 
Need be careful. Not all come with an ethernet port. For me, that's a deal breaker!

I think the "Live" has the ethernet port.
 
PJPro:Gerrardasnails:.....The GUI is not as good though.
As the Linksys?

That's right, the Linksys is a breeze to scroll through. I've only played with the WD one for a couple of hours but it's not as quick or nice to look at.
 
JohnDuncan:PJPro:I quite like the idea of these boxes. It would mean that I could play tunes without using the PS3 (noisy brute) and having to have the PC on. Think I might have a punt.

Take a look at the Western Digital ones here - i like the idea of attaching a USB drive and off you go (though haven't seen the UI, dunno if it'd give my Apple TV a run for its money)...
For some reason I don't get an Add To Cart button on Amazon. Amazing. Got to be the most important button on the whole site! It's the same for my wife's account.

I've tried to contact them, but they've well and truly hidden the link for that too.
 
JohnDuncan:PJPro:I quite like the idea of these boxes. It would mean that I could play tunes without using the PS3 (noisy brute) and having to have the PC on. Think I might have a punt.

Take a look at the Western Digital ones here - i like the idea of attaching a USB drive and off you go (though haven't seen the UI, dunno if it'd give my Apple TV a run for its money)...

Word of warning, you have to use hdmi as the PQ with composite is appalling. And the UI is just ok, it won't be as good as the AT.
 
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