Merging the computer with your home entertainment system on your home network is not only cool, it is one of the new things in the world of networking. Let’s look at how you can use some of those MP3 files and digital video and images that are sitting on your computer and stream them to your home entertainment system.

[hidepost=1]

Media Adapters

A media adapter is used to act as a bridge between your home network and your entertainment system. Essentially, it plugs into your LAN but, on the back, provides traditional hookups for home entertainment equipment. Most of them come with remote controls as well. There are now many different units available from most networking equipment manufacturers.

When installing a media adapter, it is done not at your computer usually but at your entertainment center. You connect the audio and video cables to the unit and use a network cable to connect it to your LAN. If you are going to use wireless, you need to connect the antenna to the adapter. The antenna and all the cables are included with the unit when you buy it. Working with all the cables and integrating this into an already-complicated home entertainment center can prove to be a daunting experience, however this book is not really in a position to help you there. This is a networking book, not a book on how to hook up your stereo.

The adapter will usually come with a CD-ROM for installing some software to your computer. This will set your computer up as a server for the media adapter as well as provide a utility for selecting what to share on the network.

Like any network device, you will need to tell the adapter how to communicate with your network. This is the same as any other network device (previously described), entering the IP address, subnet mask, SSID, WEP key, etc. You will need to configure it using the remote control that came with the adapter. This is a home entertainment system piece of equipment and as such uses a remote control rather than a keyboard. This makes it harder to type because you need to use the remote control to scroll through an on-screen keyboard in order to type. If you are not using a wireless connection, it is much easier. Since your router likely has a DHCP server built-in, your adapter will simply automatically get an IP address and you’re good to go.

Once set up, you will be able to play MP3 files from your PC, but play them on your home stereo over the network. Any MP3 or image file you choose to share will be accessible.

TiVo

TiVo is a cool little device. I have one myself. It is essentially a digital video recorder, or DVR. You never have to worry about missing a TV show. You can record any show you wish with the click of a button. You can also pause live TV for up to 30 minutes. In all ways, the TiVo blows the traditional VCR away.

Even through a TiVo is a simple looking box with a very easy interface, under the surface it is an actual computer with a CPU and a fast hard drive. Being that it is a computer, it can be networked just like any other computer.

In order to work with your program schedule, the TiVo needs to be able to regularly get updates from the TiVo service. If you do not have a home network, you can always plug the device into a phone jack and it will periodically dial in to the TiVo service for updates using it’s built in dial-up modem. However, if you do have a LAN, you can have the TiVo connect to your LAN and connect to the internet using your broadband connection. Using your LAN rather than the phone line gives several advantages:

• You can use the TiVo to view photos and listen to MP3s that are stored on your computer.
• If you have more than one TiVo device, you can view programs on either one that are recorded on the other.
• You can transfer recordings from the TiVo to your computer (using free software available from TiVo).
• Watch your TiVo recordings on your PC.
• Access to TiVo Central Online, which allows you to schedule recordings via your TiVo account on the TiVo website. The next time your TiVo connects to get updates, it will see the items you added to the to-do list and will then act upon that.

Connecting your TiVo to the LAN is really easy because the interface on a TiVo is incredibly user-friendly. The device does not have an Ethernet port but it does have USB. So, you would use a USB Ethernet or wireless device to get the TiVo on the network. In my case, I use a wireless adapter that plugs into the USB interface on the TiVo. You will need to consult the TiVo website to make sure the adapter you use is compatible with the TiVo. To configure the settings on the TiVo, you will need to navigate to the “Phone & Network Setup” screen. Consult your TiVo manual for where to find that, but I bet you can find it very easily.

Once the TiVo is on the network, you can install TiVo’s Desktop software (free on their site) to share media between your computer and the TiVo. The software sets your computer up as a media server for the TiVo as well as provides a desktop application for sharing media. Once you have shared music and images with the TiVo on the network, you can access those files on the TiVo by going to “Music & Photos” in the TiVo Central menu.

To watch recorded TiVo content on your PC, you need to use the TiVoToGo program that comes with the TiVo desktop program. The program will show you a list of those programs recorded on the TiVo. To download one, check it off and hit the “Start Transfer” button. Once you are done downloading it, you can watch it on your computer using any media player. Note that video files are very large, so it will take some time to transfer any video to your computer. If you are connected via wireless especially, don’t expect the transfer to be super fast.

Media Center PCs

A Media Center PC is a new concept in personal computing. The idea behind it is that the computer will serve as the center of your entire home entertainment system. A Media Center PC is typically pretty fast, with a large hard drive, a DVD drive, maybe a TV Tuner, a network connection, etc. It also has the ability to be controlled via a wireless remote control and it also has standard connections for audio and video input. The big thing, too, is that the standard Media Center PC is a Microsoft-created concept centered around Windows Media Center Edition. This is a special brand of Windows XP which has some of these special multimedia capabilities built in. Other than that, Windows Media Center is simply standard Windows XP. My computer has Media Center installed and I never use any of the home entertainment aspects of it.

When using Media Center Edition (MCE) in media center mode (rather than computer mode), you will operate the computer via a full-screen menu system. The menu system is actually just another Windows application and can be minimize and maximized as you want. The menu system is very user friendly and is operated by remote control. The system is very TiVo-like in how it works.

As mentioned, the idea behind the Media Center PC is that it will be a central part of your home entertainment system. As you probably surmised, that would usually mean that the PC has to be situated right next to the home entertainment system. A Media Center Extender is a piece of equipment that allows you to have the PC somewhere else in the house and still use it’s Media Center abilities on your home entertainment system. It essentially uses your LAN to connect the PC to the entertainment system.

[/hidepost]

Like what you read?

If so, please join over 28,000 people who receive our exclusive weekly newsletter and computer tips, and get FREE COPIES of 5 eBooks we created, as our gift to you for subscribing. Just enter your name and email below: