Media centers ,could be cd or more.

ryanjoachim wrote: »

Also, what do you recommend as the OS for a file/print server?

8.04 LTS: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download-server

Why is that a problem? I would just install KM Player or VLC onto the laptop and play the files from the main PC with my laptop. You connect the projector to the main PC or laptop?

My 2 cents:

I don't personally see much value in video playback and don't have any desire to put movies on my computer. They would take up a huge amount of storage and we just don't watch movies over and over. In the future, streaming a movie from the internet in HD will be nice.

For music, my experience is that streaming or playback from a computer does not have to be a compromise vs. standard CD playback, assuming it is done properly with the right ripping program/format (lossless or wav), right playback software/settings (to ensure bit-perfect), and good downstream equipment (good DAC).

Regarding the back-up or safety of the files, I'm in a much safer position with my music on my computer vs. before. I still have the original CDs, have the music on my computer's HD, on an external back-up HD that is only connected when doing a back-up, and the files are also backed-up on DVDs which are stored outside of my house. After putting the time into ripping hundred's of CDs, I'm definitely taking extra precautions to protect the investment.

Setting up a computer for music ripping/playback doesn't require any special hardware in the computer itself. I'm using our existing PC and didn't buy a new PC for this purpose. There is a lot of good free software for quality ripping and playback (EAC, Foobar, etc.). There are some ripping and playback software settings that can be optimized within the programs, so there is a learning curve.

If the computer is near the audio equipment, you could use SPDIF or USB to your DAC or processor. Essentially the computer becomes a transport.

If you want to stream music to multiple/distant locations over your home network, Squeezebox or Sonos systems are popular choices. They both have digital outs to connect to your DAC or processor. If you already have a computer with ample storage, an ethernet of Wi-Fi network, and a good DAC or processor, a Squeezebox Classic for around $280 is a relatively inexpensive way to stream your music in a high quality fashion.

Thanks Adam. That is where I am at till BR burners/players come down in price.

Ender the RDC is a program built into windows that allows you to log on a remote machine just like you were sitting right there. I have the full processing power of my main PC from my laptop, or any other computer on the internet. The video sucks playbak, but it is very handy.

Not really. What I want is to be able to use just the MCE remote with Vista and Win7(next OS). The WMA is the most compatible format from what I hear that is lossless. I have over 60 Cd's ripped so far... I am not against using another program as a player when I am using the laptop as a controller.

puter spazed

I want the option of the remote for when the projector is running, and when I get a BR player in the PC;)

Media center is way too easy when it works;) I have a tuner card for TV in all flavors, and FM. I don't know of anything that can be so easily controlled. I do not want a step learning curve. I am doing way to much other stuff;)
Ben

The Apple TV would be decent, but a Mac Mini would be better, paired with a dac. I like the Mini because you can browse for music via remote, or via keyboard/mouse.

venomclan wrote: »

Thanks, but I do not want to incorporate a PC into the system due to noise, heat etc...



Same as above, but I know the MM would be smaller. From what I understand, The ATV has a remote for onscreen use browsing and an application on an Iphone/itouch to navigate that way. I also believe that the MM only has a USB out, my Benchmark DAC1 is the original with no USB. I would use the toslink with the ATV, loading it with lossless, fire and forget.
Venom

One thing to keep in mind is that the Apple TV is HOT. I would say it puts off more heat than the Mac Mini, but I haven't had them side by side as a comparison.

The new Mac Mini has an optical out from its headphone jack. You would just need the appropriate cable for it.

venomclan wrote: »

Would the Mac Mini headphone jack still be the same digital signal that a dedicated toslink would send? I did not know a headpohe jack could bypass the internal dac.
V

Yes, it's called a mini toslink.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229&cs_id=1022902&p_id=1556&seq=1&format=2

You can also buy mini toslink adapters that allow you to use a standard toslink cable.

That mini toslink and headphone combo jack is a neat feature on Apple products, including their computers and the Airport Express.

Yeah, if you build an HTPC right, you can just have RAM, power supply, motherboard, heatsink, some low speed case fans, and CPU. No noise and almost no heat. Nothing compared to my main gaming system anyways. In fact, I bet it makes about as much heat and noise as your receiver or amplifier.

venomclan wrote: »

Thanks for the input guys. The mini toslink solves the audio side, but on the video side, I do not see anything but the Mini video to VGA adapter and DVI. Can this thing be hooked up to a tv with composit or Component?
V

Hmmm, I don't think so, unless you use a VGA to component converter like this: http://www.ramelectronics.net/audio-video/video-converters/vga-rgb-hv-to-component-video/audio-authority-convert-vga-signal-to-component-video-9a60/prod9A60.html

Are you using a TV without VGA, DVI, or HDMI?

Do you need a display for browsing music only, or also for video?

If I were going to buy a computer for the primary purpose of a music server near my equipment, I'd probably look at one of the small Acer Aspire One notebooks (~$350) with a USB-capable DAC or in conjunction with a USB-SPDIF converter. You would not need another display for browsing music and have the benefit of having a notebook PC when not using it for music. Also, the Aspire One is very, very quiet. My daughter has one. The only downside is no disk drive - so you would need to get an external disk drive or rip and transfer from another computer (which would be easy to do if you already plan to back-up on an external HDD anyway).

Did you mean a USB-toslink adapter?

If so, there is no simple adapter. You need electronics to make a USB to SPDIF conversions – something like a Trends UD-10.1, HagUSB, or Pop Pulse.

Or, on the cheap for around $30, the Behringer UCA202 will convert USB to optical SPDIF. I don’t see why this wouldn’t be perfectly fine when used with a DAC with good jitter rejection.

My daughter has the higher-end Aspire One, which was around $380 – bigger hd and 6 cell battery. For audio, the 6 cell battery is cool because you could essentially keep your transport off the power grid for several hours of listening.

The keyboard is obviously smaller than a typical laptop’s, but is still very usable for a man with large hands.

My daughter’s is so quiet that I thought they somehow made them without a fan. There is a fan, but it is very quiet. Plus, the processor they use is supposed to run very cool.

They are basically a scaled-down full-featured laptop running XP, without a CD/DVD drive.

If you fill up the internal hd, you could play files from an external hd.

Another benefit is that you would not need another monitor for 2-ch, as you could use the Acer's screen. And when you want to view the Acer on your LCD, you just use a VGA cable.