5.1 Sound Card Delivers 3 Streams of iTunes

An anonymous reader writes "How do you distribute simultaneous streams of DRM-protected iTunes from a single computer to multiple rooms of the house? Autonomic Controls demonstrated a unique solution at the recent Electronic House Expo (EHX). The company's Media Control Server EX software turns a PC with a 5.1 sound card into a three-zone music distribution server. (Add a second card for six outputs). At EHX, the solution was demonstrated with a multiroom audio system from NuVo, whose keypads could be used to browse and select songs, playlists, genres, artists, etc. The Autonomic software merges WMA and iTunes files into a single library for easy access." I have mixed feelings about this: on one hand, this is a really clever idea and a cool hack. On the other hand, the fact that DRM makes something like this necessary is truly infuriating.

Comments

Duh!

[sm62704]

How do you distribute simultaneous streams of DRM-protected iTunes from a single computer to multiple rooms of the house?

Easy, download the MP3s from Kazaa or rip them from CD. The hard question is, why in Turing's name would anybody download something with DRM? That's just insane!

Re:Time is on our side... yes it is.

[lisaparratt]

But I want to listen to psytrance, not acid house! :(

Re:Time is on our side... yes it is.

[mollymoo]

You can buy a decent used piano, or a nice guitar, for the price of all that stuff. Want music? Go play some.

I tried that, but once I managed to get the piano set up I had difficulty working out which pedals did what and I couldn't see through the windscreen very well. Frankly, I thought it was a little dangerous. Now I only drive while playing the oboe.

O'Rly ?

[The_Angry_Canadian]

Add a second card for six outputs

No wai !

Add a third card for nine outputs
Add a fourth card for twelve outputs !

... Add a beowulf cluster of cards and it'll summon Nathalie Portman to dance for you !

Re:iPod, anyone?

[Cutie Pi]

Um, yeah. I guess since iPods came out that no one wants to listen to music on speakers anymore, or listen to the same stuff as other poeple any more. Speakers are obsolete! Of course it's kind of a pain, when my husband and I want turn on some dinner music, that we each need separate iPods. We really don't might eating with headphones on and having a hard time hearing each other. And I'm sure that headphones providing bass that I can feel are right around the corner.

Re:Rear 5.1 outputs

[Anonymous Coward]

The sound chips for those rear 5.1 outputs are often lower quality than the front on many 5.1 sound cards. Something to think about.

Note to self: wire rear outputs to restroom, where my rear outputs are of low quality...

Re:Time is on our side... yes it is.

[Entropius]

+1, Best Reply Evar

Re:Time is on our side... yes it is.

[ozmanjusri]

Which airline do you work for?

Re:Time is on our side... yes it is.

[Ethanol-fueled]

She dosen't drive for an airline because she dosen't drink. DUH.

Re:Time is on our side... yes it is.

[TheLostSamurai]

You can buy a decent used piano, or a nice guitar, for the price of all that stuff. Want music? Go play some. I tried that once but the guitar I bought was all messed up. It had all these strings where the buttons were supposed to be.

Re:Single Sound Card Multizone?

[pandrijeczko]

but it's perfect if you like to air guitar with Dragonforce in the shower.

Actually, from what I've heard of Dragonforce'a music, I would end up emptying my bowels in the shower tray.

I'm older than you, wiser than you, and therefore entirely correct to declare AC/DC as shower room air-guitar kings.

Re:Simple

[Kalriath]

Crap dammit. I meant CD-RW.