Can I rigg a computer up to the whole house to play music in diff rooms?

[Simo]

Ok here was my idea whilst having a party the other week and want to know if its possible and what i would need.

I have a good spot under my house which leads to everywhere both up and downstairs and I was thinking of putting a computer of some sort there and then running wires to a few different rooms and out the back to different speakers (or via some amps if the PC cant output multiple connections) so I can have music stored on my PC (I would create decent quality MP3s of all my CDs and create a ton of playlists) and play it in various rooms.

I would like to be able to also connect video cables around the house so that any video/media/TV I had on the PC could be played without being converted to DVD and having a million discs around going inside and out.

So I need to also be able to play different things in different rooms, for example some video going out to the gazebo area, whilst in the living room some music and down in the rumpus a movie for the kids all streaming of the one PC.

Or have some heavy bloke tunes playing downstairs and some softer chick tunes playing upstairs.

Is this a media centre PC? Or is it like a Server that has all the data and I connect to that server through my laptop or desktop and control it from there.

I have a laptop and desktop that would connect to it creating my home network. Would I control the server from these PCs i.e. the music upstairs is playing and the girls want to turn it down, they use the laptop up their and downstairs I can change the music via the desktop?

Or are there some sort of switches that can control volume and such that also have speaker wire outputs where I would plug speakers into ro do they go directly to some sort of soundcard/audio interface that takes multiple connection on the server?

Can my rambling thoughts become a reality?

 

[canberra_raiders2k2]

for videos it would be difficult, as your gonna need a monster sized cable to reach different locations.

I dont think your computer would have enough inputs to support video/music and etc to 2 or more tv's.

music would also be difficult.

I think you might have better luck just buying an ipod and hooking it up to some surrond sound, also for videos just buy a 'Mvix' it allows you store videos and etc to it, just buy a massive 500gig hdd and your off..its compact so you could carry it to different tvs and etc to watch.

if i were you id just do that, its probably alot cheaper and more idiot proof.

 

[bulldog]

I have a media PC and use a chipped XBOX to access the media on it, video and audio. Not sure how much you can pick up an XBOX for these days, but you wouldn't need a beast of a machine to supply each room with a seperate feed. A decent P4 with some fast HDDs and a good hub will do the trick.

All you'll need is a network cable and XBOX Media Centre, plus they can connect straight to the telly without stuffing around.

I have a laptop and desktop that would connect to it creating my home network. Would I control the server from these PCs i.e. the music upstairs is playing and the girls want to turn it down, they use the laptop up their and downstairs I can change the music via the desktop?

Just make a media directory on the server and give the laptop and desktop access to it. I think that's what you meant anyway.

 

[Simo]

I think you might have better luck just buying an ipod and hooking it up to some surrond sound, also for videos just buy a 'Mvix' it allows you store videos and etc to it, just buy a massive 500gig hdd and your off..its compact so you could carry it to different tvs and etc to watch.

Ill look into a Mvix, never heard of it before.

I have a media PC and use a chipped XBOX to access the media on it, video and audio. Not sure how much you can pick up an XBOX for these days, but you wouldn't need a beast of a machine to supply each room with a seperate feed. A decent P4 with some fast HDDs and a good hub will do the trick.

All you'll need is a network cable and XBOX Media Centre, plus they can connect straight to the telly without stuffing around.

Quote:
I have a laptop and desktop that would connect to it creating my home network. Would I control the server from these PCs i.e. the music upstairs is playing and the girls want to turn it down, they use the laptop up their and downstairs I can change the music via the desktop?

Just make a media directory on the server and give the laptop and desktop access to it. I think that's what you meant anyway.

I have an xbox that I could chip and yes that last quote is pretty much what I was thinking.

Ill post back with a couple of questions if thats cool after I have a bit of a think, but it sounds promising.

 

[Simo]

Bulldog,

Im a bit confused, why do I need the chipped xbox? Can my current PC's not do what it is doing? Or is it better to do it from the xbox?

All you'll need is a network cable and XBOX Media Centre, plus they can connect straight to the telly without stuffing around.

+ a media PC right? Is a media PC a normal PC running windows media centre or are you just refering to any PC that actually stores the media I want on it?

 

[bulldog]

Bulldog,

Im a bit confused, why do I need the chipped xbox? Can my current PC's not do what it is doing? Or is it better to do it from the xbox?

Your PCs can do it easily, but if you want to hook it all up to a telly an XBOX is so much more convenient, no stuffing around with resolutions, overscan adjustments and refresh rates. Just plug the XBOX in, edit the config file for XBMC to tell it where on the network to locate the files and all your media will be there ready to go almost as soon as you turn it on, no waiting for an OS to load and everything is controllable from the XBOX controller.

+ a media PC right? Is a media PC a normal PC running windows media centre or are you just refering to any PC that actually stores the media I want on it?

Yup, just an XP box with a bunch of hard drives and a couple of digital tuners that stores recorded TV shows, music and movies.

 

[Simo]

Great thanks bulldog. Just to bug you a little more, could you tell me what I would have to tell a modder to do when I get my xbox modified?

And with one xbox how would I supply different rooms with different media?

Not sure how much you can pick up an XBOX for these days, but you wouldn't need a beast of a machine to supply each room with a seperate feed. A decent P4 with some fast HDDs and a good hub will do the trick.

Im not sure if the above quote means I need an xbox and tv in each room to get a feed? (for example to play a movie downstairs and some music upstairs?)

 

[canberra_raiders2k2]

the money it cost to mod you may aswell just buy an Mvix, does everything the xbox does but smaller in size.

I have a modded xbox and its pretty good, but ive turned it into my tv show hub lol..either way both options allow you to play movies and music on a tv, via PC to etc.

 

[bulldog]

the money it cost to mod you may aswell just buy an Mvix, does everything the xbox does but smaller in size.

Except play games and DVDs. Not knocking it,I want one after looking around on the website, especially the 1080p wireless network player.

And with one xbox how would I supply different rooms with different media?

You'd need one player and display in each room for sure, I only mentioned the XBOX because they are cheap and effective and I use one myself. You could use your PCs or an MVIX or some sort of network capable media player instead of the XBOX.

Great thanks bulldog. Just to bug you a little more, could you tell me what I would have to tell a modder to do when I get my xbox modified?

Get him to throw on a bunch of dashboards, they're just the UI you get when you switch on, plus XBMC, might as well throw a few emulators and roms on as well for fun if you can. If you want to use the XBOX to store media you can put a bigger IDE HDD in there as well.

 

[Simo]

the money it cost to mod you may aswell just buy an Mvix, does everything the xbox does but smaller in size.

I have a modded xbox and its pretty good, but ive turned it into my tv show hub lol..either way both options allow you to play movies and music on a tv, via PC to etc.

I looked up the Mvix and its a pretty cool device and the pricing I thought was reasonable.

Good to know I have options.

 

[Steven Gerrard]

If you use iTunes and Airport Express, you can send audio wirelessly to a stereo on the other side of your house.
Apple TV does the same thing wirelessly but can send Video signals.

 

[canberra_raiders2k2]

yea my modded xbox origainally was a gaming machine, 250gig with xbox games..but i deleted them all and just used it to hold moves and tv shows, now its just a hub to watch stuff.