WiFi and my Stereo system...

[James_F]

OK, so I have my completed converting all my CD and LPs to MP3s. Now how the hell do I get them to play on my Home Theater system across the house? I've look at hard drive components, but I want to leverage my large hard drives and WiFi network in the house. This is the solution I came up with, but want to run it by you guys to see if it makes sense...

1. I need a unit to play the MP3s on my Stereo system. Turtle Beach makes a unit called the AudioTron (http://www.audiotron.net/audiotron/producthome.asp) which will allow me to play MP3s over a home network. I want a solution that is separate from my computer and am willing to pay for that convenience. I also like how it seems as easy as a CD player to use which would make my wife more apt to use it.

2. Now I can't run wires to the location my Home Theater is in and I don't want to fish wires around my carpet. So my choice is to leverage my 802.11b WiFi network. Linksys makes a unit called WET11 - Wireless Ethernet Bridge (http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=22&prid=432) which allows any Ethernet device to join the network. No drivers are needed. This would allow me to get the AudioTron on the network and see my hard drives.

Ok thats my plan... Any problems with it? Or is there a better solution to spend my money on?

[James_F]

Its too bad I can't find a unit with built in WiFi, but at least this seems possible... :shrug:

[James_F]

Yea I see that, but since I have a WiFi network, I'd like to use it. I'm not sold on the HomePNA as a long term solution.

[James_F]

The only negative I've seen on this is that the remote is an IR... I'd prefer a RF remote, but I guess I can't have it all...

[Ryan]

I'm waiting to get an Audiotron myself. The good way, I mean. Not that I'm waiting for something to improve with the product. I just not set up with the equipemtn and money to buy it yet. But I expect to in the next few months.

I would suggest asking detail questions here:
http://pub90.ezboard.com/bturtlebeach

It's the official discussion board for the product.

I think the wireless network could be an option if you don't overrun the bandwidth doing other things while trying to listen to music.

IS there a likelyhood you might end up with more than one Audiotron in the near future? I don't know how well WiFi will handle feed multiple units simulaneously.

[Ryan]

I think the audiotron is currently the best bet in hard-drive based music playback.

While a unit that contains its owner hard drive and CD reader/burner is certainly compelling, I don't really need to spend money on compnents I already have.

Audiotron recently updated their firmware to support Windows Media Streaming, so now there are many additional internet 'radio' sites to peruse.

The unit is also controlable via a built in webserver that supports both full-feature web browsers, and PDA based 'thin' web browsers.

There also appears to be a sizable number of third-party applications for the Audiotron supporting both setup and operation. But I've not taken a look at their capabilities, so I'm not sure of all the details.

I also read a review--I think on Tom's Hardware Guide (www.tomshardware.com)--that mated an Audiotron with a SnapServer NAS device. I think in the future I would like to build a raid unit, even if I do it through software on a linux box, for my digital media storage. I would hate to lose a hard drive full of media and have to rip all over again.

[Richard King]

I selected a rather simple, non elegant solution to MP3 distribution. I have a device made by X-10 that sends the audio and monitor signal from a pc to my home theater by wireless RF signal. It also came with an RF wireless remote "mouse", a multi-funtion remote control with mouse functions built in, which allows me to control the computer from anywhere in the house. The product is called the "Big Picture" and it was made for a couple of years, but I believe it has been discontinued for a while. So, I have a dedicated computer sitting next and networked to my regular computer. I can now access any music files on either of the computers and play through my home theater system or anything connected to the home theater. The Big Picture comes with an RF transmitter and receiver to send the signals, a VGA to Composite converter, an RF "Mouse Remote" and necessary interconnecting cables. Visual interface is simply through the television connected to the home theater system, or any television in the house that is connected to the sources in the home theater. Playback is done through WinAmp.

A review:
http://www.hometoys.com/htinews/dec97/articles/x10/x10.htm

[James_F]

Rking, I saw that x-10 thing, but I'm trying to get away from using my computer. I like the idea of a NAS to store my music on and then use the WiFi to hit it. WiFi should be fast enought to handle the MP3s, and streaming audio... A friend has the Audiotron and while its not the greatest piece of equipement ever invented, its quite good at playing MP3s and internet radio. The only shortcomming is that the screen that tells you the song/internet radio station is too small to see from very far away. I'm thinking this is the way to go. I'll have to check out those links Ryan posted first though...

[James_F]

Update...

Looks like many people are using the same solution I came up with. I might have to head down to Fry's Electronics today and see if I can find the equipement...

Now where to stash my wife during this trip....

[Richard King]

Isn't that what the trunk is for? :lol:

[James_F]

LOL, I made it to target today, but they can't help me with my "project". Maybe this week, I'll have to make a trip to buy some more printer paper. While I'm there, I might find some other things that need purchasing. :D

[Ryan]

Yeah, that screen isn't the most useable I've seen, but few really are. For almost 20 years now, we've put up with CD displays that don't tell us too much. Radio's ability to tell us detailed information on a display hasn't really caught on with the public, either.

I think the best option, since you're running wireless anyway, is to use a wireless-enabled notebook or PDA to view track info and control the unit.

One note I read while reading some reviews said that the web browser on the unit works even when the front panel power is turned off (more of a sleep mode rather than powered down; main AC power is on the rear panel). I think the review indicated that the unit was controlable and would play music even when 'sleeping'.

This might be useful for me as I expect to place at least one unit in a equipment closet and would not need (nor be able) to see the units display. I wonder if the IR remote still works to control playback when 'sleeping?'

[James_F]

I guess I could buy a wifi card for my Jornada PDA and use that. Nothing like turning this into a thousand dollar project. :rolleyes: But that said, it does sound like a great idea. I have speakers thoughout the house so it would be nice to be outside at the pool and control my music without having to go inside. :shrug:

[Ryan]

So, James, any progress with the Audiotron?

[James_F]

I've purchased the WET11, but no Audiotron yet. I'm waiting to see if I can purchase a used one from a friend for half price. I hope to get it by this weekend.... He's had some trouble with it, but I believe its all "user error". The wife has singed off on the deal so I don't have to hide it.

BUT, I've been looking at another solution... Its called FireBall by Escient (http://www.escientconvergence.com/fireball.htm). The nice thing about this is that it controls both my Sony 400 CD Changers and uses CDDB to give the CDs lables. Its also has support for Sirius... The bad thing is that it doesn't seem to support a network, so my exisiting MP3s would have to be burned to CDs and then copied over, rather than leverging my exisiting network.

The reason I'm looking at the fireball is that the Audiotron seems to be of poor build quality and I'm not sure its going to last very long. BUT, the whole point of me doing this was to have my MP3s played over the network. I think by this weekend I'll make my decision.

[James_F]

Update, it seems to support a home network.

http://www.escientconvergence.com/pipeline/Default.htm

You use this program to "push" the files onto the Fireball.

But the AudioTron is made to grab MP3s from a network where the Fireball is like a music server. I'm not sure I want to buy another server since I already have one in my house (not a music server though)...

[Richard King]

The wife has singed off on the deal so I don't have to hide it.Was this a trade off for letting her out of the trunk? :D

[James_F]

Well, I'll make the decision this weekend. I've got some money sitting in my wallet that needs to be spent! Might as well be on me. :D We've spent WAY too much money on the Nursery and we don't have the baby yet. I've got to take care of myself at some point. :sure:

[James_F]

OK, here is an update on my system.

I bought the AudioTron from my friend and hooked it up to the router. No problem. Sees my computer gets internet radio. The web interface is kind of cheezy. Doesn't seem very professional, but it is easy to configure.

So I'm all excited, but....

As soon as I move it to the WiFi Ethernet bridge, my whole network slows down. Seems like the unit is "chattering" on the network when plugged into the bridge. It doesn't happen when I plug it directly into the router, and the bridge doesn't chatter when I plug a laptop into it. Somehow the combination is causing massive amounts of network traffic on my network. It can't stream any MP3s since the network is so slow and it times out on Internet Radio sites.

I'm kind of bummed here. It works great while on the router, but there is no way I can run Cat-5e to the location of my Stereo system. My friend said he'd give me my money back if I can't get it working, but I'm not ready to give up yet.

Any ideas why there would be so much traffic? Its not a location thing with the bridge since my laptop works fine in every location of the house. Its not the AudioTron since it works fine while on the router... :shrug:

Its got to be something really simple, but I'm just not seeing it.

[James_F]

Its in a room with a cathedral ceiling. Its also on an exterior wall. I should be able to figure this thing out. Others have got it working. I'm going to Fry's Electronics tomorrow and get a new Ethernet Bridge and see if that fixes it.

[Ryan]

James: Try over at the support board I suggested. There seems to be a good number of people running custom setups like yours.

Also, make sure you've upgrade to the latest software and firmware for the units. I've read that the web interface has been improved with the 3.0 firmware.

Also, at the support board there are some aftermarket interface for controlling the Audiotron, but I'm not familiar with their details.

[James_F]

Good idea... I'm so close I can taste success...

[J.W.]

Any updates on this project to reveal? Very interested.

J.W.

[James_F]

I had it working with the wi-fi bridge, but I didn't like the audiotron unit. So what did I do. I went to Fry's electronics and bought the smallest motherboard and case I could find and hooked it up to the wi-fi bridge. Installed an old version of Win98 and stream the audio using MusicMatch. It works out really well, but no remote. I'm looking into remote solutions and should have one figured out soon. The computer has an old S3 video card and a old 4 gig hard drive in it. No floppy or cd-rom. Its got a SBLive! sound card and a 3Com NIC in it. Thats it. Cost me $150 to make it using some parts I had around. I've now moved beyond the monitor and use a program called Remote Administrator (http://www.radmin.com) to control the computer from my other laptop. That way I don't need a monitor anymore. When I get the remote stuff working, I'll just need to use RemoteAdmin to reboot the computer and other fun stuff.

If you can get into the AudioTrons interface, it was a good unit and worked with the bridge. I just didn't like its interface. It has a LCD screen that tells you the song, but you can't read it from very far away. The first unit didnt' work with my Wi-Fi bridge, but the second unit I got worked fine. If found the network and I was able to set it up using a web browser. At $250 the AudioTron is somewhat expensive for what you get, but its ease of use makes it a good buy for those who don't want to get into what I ended up doing.