How Do You Handle Home Media?

carpoolio writes "Yahoo's Tech Tuesday has an interesting series on bridging the PC/home entertainment gap. The solutions are fairly complicated, and very Windows-centric. As I store more media on my PowerBook, I'm finding more ways I can't listen to or view it on my stereo and TV. One example: TiVo Desktop won't stream AAC files - only MP3s - from iTunes to TiVo. That's an easy fix, but still: how do you get stuff off of your computer and onto your TV, stereo, etc.?"

Comments

Xbox + XBMC all you need

[systimax]

http://www.xboxmediacenter.de

Myth(TV)

[Perrin7]

www.mythtv.org

Re:Myth(TV)

[badasscat]

MythTV is good but it's far too complicated to set up for the average user. And if you want to play DVD's or Windows Media files, you've still gotta install that support separately, which is another headache under Linux.

I'm sure a lot of people will take the "I did it, therefore it's easy enough for my mom to do it" tack, but that's just not the case. Obviously MythTV has fans and I guess I'm one of them, but even I, with 20 years of experience building and maintaining computers, could not get MythTV doing everything I wanted it to do before giving up. And the way I feel is, if it takes me that long just to get something working, and if I still can't get it to do everything I want it to do, then it's not worth dealing with.

Right now I run Windows XP on a server that's hooked up to my Dolby Digital receiver through S-video (both in and out) and optical audio out. I'd use component if my TV supported component, but it doesn't so I don't worry about it. Anyway, I've got it set to login automatically, and I've also get it set up to use magic packet as well as remote desktop connections so even though I leave that PC off most of the time (for various reasons), I can activate it from anywhere and immediately start either playing through the home theater system or streaming to another PC.

Software-wise, I use Media Portal when I'm sitting in front of my TV, an OSS app for Windows that's similar to MythTV but works well "out of the box". It looks great, it runs great, and it plays pretty much every format that you've got a codec for on your machine already - which, if you're like most Windows users, is pretty much all of them anyway. The experience is not unlike running Windows Media Center. In fact, I'm not sure what I can do with Media Center that I can't do with Media Portal, and they look very, very similar. I also have this PC set up as a TiVo server, so I can use that as a front end as well (though I generally don't, but I've tried it out since they made the HMO free).

I can watch DVD's with this PC, any movie format you can name, I could watch TV if I wanted to set that up, and since I have all my music stored in MP3 format (why the originala submitter is using DRM-protected AAC is beyond me), I have no problems whatsoever playing music through Media Portal, streaming it to another PC using iTunes or whatever other app I want, or streaming it to my TiVo.

In short, I can do pretty much anything, and apart from the costs of Windows and the hardware (which is mostly comprised of second-hand parts from old PC's), I haven't spent a dime on anything. I'd peg the total cost including Windows, a new capture card, and a new hard drive at less than $200.

Could you build a functional Myth box cheaper? Maybe. Could you mod an Xbox and build a server for it cheaper? I doubt it. But my solution was much easier to set up and is easier to use than either of these other solutions anyway (my wife can use it, and she knows nothing about computers). And I have to spend zero time maintaining it or adding features or upgrades. It just works, and I can play all of my media files without problem anywhere in the house.

I will say that I make a point of completely avoiding any DRM protection at the source, which makes things a lot easier. I'd advise everybody to do this. Instead of buying Apple's AAC files, buy CD's and rip them to MP3 (or Ogg if you prefer, but MP3 has greater hardware and software support, which I think is important). If you rip a DVD, make sure to strip the Macrovision and CSS, which most DVD rippers will do (go ahead and violate the DMCA - the DMCA violates fair use laws as it is). There are lots of ways to avoid DRM and this will help you avoid headaches later.

My setup

[grub]

Video: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro w/TV out (composite & svideo). A coax line runs composite -> the TV in line of my receiver.
Audio: Audigy 2 card with coax running from the SPDIF connector to the receiver's digital TV in.
To control it all: an ATI Remote Wonder remote control. It works by RF with ~10M of range so the source computer makes its noise in another room.

The Remote Wonder works well under Linux and MacOSX although you may have to google for drivers.

Dear carpoolio

[slashnutt]

This is a response to your question about 'How Do You Handle Home Media?'.

In reading the question, you have actually answered the solution yourself. As you point at problems simply eliminate that area. You pointed to Tivo not streaming then eliminate that component from the problem.

There is nothing preventing you from hooking the computer to a stereo tuner solving the issue or hooking a composite video card to a TV (better would be a DVI input directly to a flat panel). If the component doesn't suite your needs then that component is not part of the solution. That goes for the Windows Centric issue you addressed; if it doesn't solve the need than there are non-proprietary solutions, I think the name start with L or something someone.

Really, Tivo and other you named are fighting a battle that may be hard won. The proprietary market seems to have slowed in response, yet the onslaught of FOSS solutions hasn't eroded over the years. The FOSS solutions seem to now fit needs faster than their proprietary relatives. Now if the true lower level hardware could be non-proprietary so you could order a manufacture to assemble components you designed in a collective community. Don't like Intel great IBM has some neat PowerPC chips don't like the video card drivers great we'll build it to your specs - this is a dream not achievable just yet.

cheap setup...

[garcia]

TV-out with an old Voodoo3 3000 and a simple 16 bit cheap SoundBlaster from 10 years ago to cheap cables. I mean, after all, it's mostly divx or another format for downloaded movies.

For serious music I usually burn the SHNs/FLACs to CD and play them in my stereo.

I have tried using my Tivo for MP3s but I just don't see the point. Maybe if I could use it for video I would. That would be a lot easier than screwing around with TV-out and waiting for the screen to resize, etc. I have a feeling that won't come to fruition from Tivo though ;)

FreeBSD, FLAC, and a sound card...

[phallstrom]

I bought a low-end Dell server with room for a lot of disk space, a 160gb drive (for now), and a $5 sound card. Converted all my CD's using EAC and FLAC and at the moment am using flac123 to play them. Sound out the server, up the wall, across the ceiling, up through the ceiling into the livingroom and into the stereo.

Works great. One of these days I'll put a web interface on it and be done with it.

The most obvious solution works just fine.

[arbi]

I have a networked computer in my living room with these things plugged into it:

1) TV
2) Stereo
3) Wireless Keyboard / Mouse

It works. I'm really not sure what the issue is here. :P

a few ways

[anjrober]

this has been an issue I (we all) have been fighting for a while. I recently saw an interesting system called sonos (www.sonos.com). It's an amp with built in mp3 decoder and wifi/wired connections. It comes with an ipod-with-screen based remote. You can connect them together and use one as a standard RCA input (for things like a tuner, dvd, etc) and all other amps share that central source. All amps play mp3s and stream web radio. This does not come out until later this year.

For now, I'm using Tivo home media and not really loving it.

Airport Extreme

[Gannoc]

For $130, you can plug it in anywhere in your house, and play anything that iTunes can play from any computer. As a bonus, its also a 802.11g extender and printer server.

I agree this stuff is still too complicated ...

[xmas2003]

I have a fairly complex halloween decorations and christmas lights setup (includes X10 controls for the lights and a webcam), but I leave the VCR programming up to my wife.

MythTV you insensitive clod!

[drewzhrodague]

I use MythTV, of course! Actually, I use KnoppMyth, but -- same thing.

FABULOUS TiVo replacement, but sometimes a bit hard to get working, especially if you only have seemingly random hardware, or just whatever is laying arround. The machine I dedicate for this is piped into my TV, stereo, local network, and it is convenient to drag-and-drop whatever media files I want (including MAME ROMs!) onto the MythTV box, and play away! Check it out, it really is worth it. Use an MPEG tuner card if you can.

Easy Solution

[nwbvt]

My computer is my TV/stereo. I got a cheap TV tuner a couple years ago and it works fine, and I have my computer connected to my stereo. As a cheap college student, this is especially good as it also saves cash (TV tuners are much cheaper than TVs and I don't have to buy a seperate set of PC speakers) and space.

Windows now - moving to mythtv

[Sabalon]

I have a notebook setup just for this. The bad thing is that it has an ATI card in there for TV out which is a pain to get working with Linux, so for now I'm just using Windows. I can play vids for the kids and stream my favorite radio stations.

The next step is to get MythTV running on the box, which has a much easier interface and can do more, such as image galleries, etc...

The biggest problem I have is input. Right now the notebook is on top of the entertainment center because of the aforementioned kids. And it's running windows so things like forcing video out is a pain, plus my wife doesn't know how to work it. And what idiot decided that play/pause in media player should be Control-P instead of space.

My main mythtv box has a remote controller for the video capture card, but I have nothing to hook to the notebook. I guess I need to bite the bullet and either buy some cheap IR receiver for use with lirc or threaten to burn the house down by building my own.

I'm surprised no company has come out with a USB based IR receiver that can be taught so you can control all your apps with it. Seems like a simple little item, not much needed to make and could be sold cheap enough to return a decent product and get lots of people to buy.

Squeezebox

[jallison]

For audio I use a Squeezebox [http://slimdevices.com/]. This is an 802.11 gizmo that allows you to stream music from computer to stereo. Works well.

I've not conquered the video thing yet. I like the idea of having easy access to the digital media, but I don't like the idea of having a computer in the family room. Computers go in the office, where there's a desk and a proper work environment.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Playstation + Gameshark

[nharmon]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this. But there is a product for the Playstation 2 called Gameshark Media Player which allows you to connect to a PC server (running windows or linux) and stream video, music, or even pictures to your television.

I've only played with it a little bit, but so far it seems to be very usable.

Media Center

[McFly69]

got a test box of Windows Media Center 2005. Works great with all audio files and even plays/records High Def TV :) It handles hi-def signal from the roof antena and the sat system. Provides Dolby digital optical output directly to my receiver.