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| Thread ID: 32513 | 2003-04-21 03:38:00 | Creating a Media Server on a LAN | flying_green_leprachaun (1767) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 137414 | 2003-04-21 03:38:00 | I would like to set up a Media server of some kind to play MP3's & Movies on the Tele & Stereo in my lounge, I did a brief search on google (to no avail) on possible specs to achieve this. Anyone have any ideas? The LAN at home currently has one old Machine (PII 450mhz running WIN2000 Pro) that we use to watch DVD's as it has the only DVD-rom in the house. But there is no easy way I can see to have MP3's or other Multimedia played to the Stereo alone. I was thinking of having some standalone PC networked & remotely accessable via Http or maybe some specifically designed software for the job (have no idea what that might be tho) all madcap ideas considered fgl |
flying_green_leprachaun (1767) | ||
| 137415 | 2003-04-21 07:50:00 | > I would like to set up a Media server of some kind to > play MP3's & Movies on the Tele & Stereo in my > lounge, I did a brief search on google (to no avail) > on possible specs to achieve this. Well, nearly anything P133 and up will be happy to play MP3's wil no skipping at alll... but you're gonna be doing something different over LAN... different if its just goin to your stereo though, just a line out cable from your soundcard to the line in on ya stereo and you're peachy :-) > Anyone have any ideas? The LAN at home currently has > one old Machine (PII 450mhz running WIN2000 Pro) that > we use to watch DVD's as it has the only DVD-rom in > the house. But there is no easy way I can see to have > MP3's or other Multimedia played to the Stereo alone. Yeah, just get a Male 3.5mm plug > 2x male RCA lead and do as above and you have sound from your PC to stereo > I was thinking of having some standalone PC networked > & remotely accessable via Http or maybe some > specifically designed software for the job (have no > idea what that might be tho) Next you're gonna want a that has a VGA card with TV-O, check QMB.co.nz if you're in AK coz they have a GF4 MX 440 SE-T really cheap that'll do the trick, running DVD's to your TV! Hope this helps! Cheers Chilling_Silence |
Chilling_Silence (9) | ||
| 137416 | 2003-04-21 07:55:00 | Use Windows Media Server on either Windows XP or Windows 2000 Server, and use stream-on-demand. Use another computer to request media items off it, and use TV-out on that computer to your TV. Or take Chilling_Silence's advice, probably easier. |
agent (30) | ||
| 137417 | 2003-04-21 08:06:00 | > Or take Chilling_Silence's advice, probably easier. :D Thanks....:-) You'd need a mobo that supprts AGP - my card I brought for $130 Incl. GST from QMB was backwards compatible with AGP 4x, 2x, and 1x! TV-O is dead easy to master with Win2K too - Just insert the card, download the latest detonators from nvidia.com (between 16 and 19 megs) and you're off - Thou you'd need a good quality RCA > RCA lead - Bad budget ones just arent worth it! Just setup the PC in your living room, and you can even ditch the monitor once you've got TV-O going coz you can use it as your monitor instead! Brilliant! |
Chilling_Silence (9) | ||
| 137418 | 2003-04-21 10:55:00 | The Main thing obviously was getting the media to the TV & Stereo . . . that seems covered nicely & seems emminently do-able . . . what I was also hoping for was a degree of transparancy so that the lounge didnt seem taken over by "stuff" which is why I was hoping for a lone box sitting in the corner that I could manipulate remotely & didnt need its own Keyboard & mouse . Altho thinking about it, I could go wireless . . . Anyone tried a similar setup? (by wireless I was thinking Keyboard & mouse, not network) |
flying_green_leprachaun (1767) | ||
| 137419 | 2003-04-21 11:01:00 | just checked out QMB (http://qmb . co . nz) Oh My Goodness, they are REALLY competitive Pricewise . Thanks a TON for pointing them out to me! |
flying_green_leprachaun (1767) | ||
| 137420 | 2003-04-21 23:25:00 | Yeah, I did do that for a while: The family went on holiday without me, so I knew I had free reign over the house til they came back! I brought my PC into the family room (With my GF4 MX 440SE-T w/TV-O, and my SB!Live 5.1 Channel soundcard) and hooked it all up in one lone corner down by the stereo. (The Stereo and TV are in opposite corners of the room) I went down to DSE and grabbed a few leads, to go from my SB!Live and GF4, totalling about $30 all up. Not too bad for a good learning curve, and an interesting experience with it all! At the time, I had a monitor setup next to it, a mouse, and a keyboard.. and things were getting a little ramped in that corner, but I made do by getting rid of the Monitor altogether, as Win2K remembered Id been using TV-O when I last shut-down! The Keyboard and Mouse were not Wireless at that point, but had long enough leads to make it to where I wanted to sit in the lounge, but was a pain having the cords running across the floor/sofa's when I had mates around the next night for a DVD! Anyways.. a month later I got a Wireless Keyboard from a friend for $35, and a Wireless Mouse from Trademe for slightly less (Trackball, not intelli-eye) and was a very happy chappy when the family again went out for a weekend and left me there. Simply plug in the PC, set it up... Place the receivers on top of the PC... Remove the monitor and you're away! Quite a nice little setup, and it was well worth it. I now am able to take my PC down to the local Youth events when they want to play DVD's etc, as the VCR they have is going bung, lol. Anyways, Hope this helps! Fell free to post back if you run into anything, and let us know how you go on. If you have an AGP Slot in your PC, then that GF4 MX 440SE-T will do fine, as its backwards compatible :-) Cheers Chill. |
Chilling_Silently (228) | ||
| 137421 | 2003-04-22 00:27:00 | Just FYI what I did to hook up mine was to get the cables and TV outs as mentioned above; if you cable it right you don't even need to be in the same room, and then to make it a bit less intrusive, I wired through the wall so the PC could stay where it was, a five meter usb lead to a hub was setup by the VCR for joysticks etc and I used a program of the net (you have to pay for it, but there are free alternatives) called uIce which worked with the remote control unit for my TV tuner card which I never used anyway. This makes it just another device on the end of a remote and when you have setup macros etc to switch displays, launch programs, even control the cursor it actually doesn't seem like you are using a computer anymore. IR receivers can be built for about $20 in parts, or look for cheap serial port ir receivers that are common on the net. Have a look at programs like Girder, uIce etc. I fully recommend this solution; its a brilliant way to integrate the computer for watching movies and playing music. |
TerryW (2183) | ||
| 137422 | 2003-04-22 00:39:00 | Yes, you dont neccesarily have to have it in the same room, if you buy good enough quality cables, you can have it in a totally different room, however for a 450Mhz, why not simply dedicate the PC for the cause?! If you're going to use longer leads, the quality of the cabling, especially for the Video, needs to be good, otherwise you'll notice line 'noise' in your video images displayed on the TV! |
Chilling_Silently (228) | ||
| 137423 | 2003-04-22 07:14:00 | Viaarena (www.viaarena.com) have an interesting article. | flying_green_leprachaun (1767) | ||
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