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[Mangy Varmit]

Help!

I need some way to get music (mp3 & wma), quicktime videos (from my Olympus digital camera), avi's, mpg's, internet radio, photos, etc from my computer (XP Pro) upstairs wirelessly downstairs to my TV/stereo.

I just purchased JRiver's Media Center 11 today, which I've been using the trial version of on my computers at home and work and that I love, so I guess I could either go with a UPnP media receiver that Media Center supports, OR, some type of computer next to the TV to actually run Media Center and use their software on the TV and run their Library Server on the computer upstairs.

I have an old computer I could use, I guess (AMD T-Bird 1.4) but I don't have a TV card and this old thing is LOUD...the wife won't like that. I already have a Comcast 2 Tuner HD DVR, so have no interest in recording shows on it.

I like the looks of D-Link's DSM-320, but haven't read the greatest reviews of it. Same with all the other offerings from Netgear, Linksys, etc. The Roku stuff looks great, but it's too expensive for me (>$200) and no video...I definitely need video streamed to the TV. And photo slideshows with music if possible.

I've seen some type of XBox option often mentioned on other AV forums, but I have no idea how I would go about getting such a thing, and I have no interest in modding something myself, and don't know whether it would work with Media Server or not.

So, any ideas? Thanks from a new customer!

[jgreen]

Mangy--
Congratulations.  You now have the best media player out there, by a huge margin.  You've also logged into a great resource for getting obscure questions about media answered.  Unfortunately, I'm fairly new myself and I'm just as in the dark and just as curious about home media networks.  Actually, I'm more in the dark, I'm certain.  So I'm not going to be much help.
At any rate, I can't tell you why these guys haven't responded, but I can attest that there are quite a few experts in home media networking who regularly post on this site.  Keep your post alive by adding new questions, keep pestering them, and eventually you'll get a lot of help on exactly that question.  And I'll get my own questions answered at the same time.
Your main target for info on home networks should be "Mastiff", who keeps a web page devoted to his network here:  (Thank you JimH)

http://home.powertech.no/mastiff/multizone.htm

Good luck and congratulations.  There is nothing that comes close to Media Center.  (Thank you Matt)

[Mangy Varmit]

Thanks for the welcome jgreen 

I found the DSM 320 at Best Buy ( ) and decided to give it a shot.

Well, after tinkering a lot with the UPnP settings, I finally can listen to some music and watch some of my vids, but not all strangely, even though they are the same type (mpg's copied off a ReplayTV using DVArchive).

The unit still seems pretty flaky though, as I can play a couple songs, then the next song in the album shows a "file unavailable" message, or an unknown file format message, even though all are either MP3 VBR or WMA CBR files, very standard stuff.

So, not sure I will end up keeping it or not. Any other "expert" DSM-320 users out there want to share their tips/tricks?

Thanks!

[Alex B]

Your list is quite demanding. In my opinion nothing less than a PC is good enough. I would buy a new silent and sleek looking PC. I would also consider a wired 100 MB LAN instead of wireless. At least you should buy the fastest wireless available. A small LCD screen besides your sofa and a cordless keyboard/mouse combo would make using it comfortable.

A PC is more flexible and it has the needed horsepower for full screen video and hires image slideshows.

[glynor]

Your list is quite demanding. In my opinion nothing less than a PC is good enough. I would buy a new silent and sleek looking PC. I would also consider a wired 100 MB LAN instead of wireless. At least you should buy the fastest wireless available. A small LCD screen besides your sofa and a cordless keyboard/mouse combo would make using it comfortable.

A PC is more flexible and it has the needed horsepower for full screen video and hires image slideshows.

I concur, though you could probably pull it off wirelessly as long as you don't skimp out on the basestation and wireless cards (I'd look at Apple's AirPorts for the basestation).  I personally did go the wired route with my HTPC (I've got a Gigabit LAN connection), but I've played plenty of MPEG-4/XviD videos at work over a Wireless LAN (with an Airport 802.11G basestation) and had no problems.

One other benefit of the HTPC route is that it can serve as a Game console too.  Throw Doom3, Far Cry, UT2004, FIFA2005, Call of Duty, and Prince of Persia on there and have some fun!

What I really need is a small, wireless, touchscreen LCD Monitor.  I could mount this in the corner above the armrest of my couch, and life would be devine.   

I have heard of XBMC (XBox Media Center) and other similar solutions, which might work for you.  I also know that you can buy (for a considerable premium) a pre-modified XBox that will let you run the extended Dashboard and Media Center and whatnot.  After all's said and done though, I still think getting a HTPC is a better, more flexible, and more upgradable option.

[Mangy Varmit]

Your list is quite demanding. In my opinion nothing less than a PC is good enough. I would buy a new silent and sleek looking PC. I would also consider a wired 100 MB LAN instead of wireless. At least you should buy the fastest wireless available. A small LCD screen besides your sofa and a cordless keyboard/mouse combo would make using it comfortable.

A PC is more flexible and it has the needed horsepower for full screen video and hires image slideshows.

Yes, this would all be very nice, except for my small budget. 

I already have WinXP Pro, the Tbird 1.4 cpu/motherboard/memory, extra hard drive, and wireless PCI card. If I were to do an HTPC, I'd need in addition to buy a quiet case and quiet/passive cpu cooling. I'd also need to figure out how to use a remote with this setup...I know nothing about this.  The HTPC itself can be hidden behind the entertainment center, I just need to be able to control Media Center with a remote.

Thanks all for your informative replies.

[glynor]

I personally like ATI's Remote Wonder.  These come with many of their All-In-Wonder Video Cards and their TV Wonder PCI Cards (the latter of which might be a good consideration anyway), but I think you can buy them separately too. They're great, easy to use, and (thanks to all of Matt's recent work) work perfectly with MC11.

I would think the Athlon 1.4 would be fine.  I have an Athlon XP-M 2500+ in my HTPC (which also isn't the most powerful solution) but it's probably definately more than I need for just media playback.  Of course, FarCry and Half Life 2 would like more... 

[Mangy Varmit]

So I see there are 2 different Remote Wonders out there, the original and the "II" version. The review at RemoteCentral.com says that owners of the original have little reason to upgrade.

glynor, I'm curious why you'd say the TV Wonder "might be a good consideration anyway". I'm currently considering this barebone system at NewEgg that includes s-video out.

[glynor]

So I see there are 2 different Remote Wonders out there, the original and the "II" version. The review at RemoteCentral.com says that owners of the original have little reason to upgrade.

glynor, I'm curious why you'd say the TV Wonder "might be a good consideration anyway". I'm currently considering this barebone system at NewEgg that includes s-video out.

The TV Wonder's main purpose isn't the Video Out, but the TV Tuner and Video IN.  I realize you already have the DVR, but once you get the HTPC you might find it easier to run everything (TV included) through it.  I did.  There are actually 3 RWs.  The 1, the 2, and the Plus (the newest one).  The major difference between the 1 and the 2 (other than some useless buttons) is the usable distance.  The reviews I've read say the RW2 is vastly improved.  If you're not going more than 20-30' though I doubt it matters.

I personally have the RW2, but it came with a video card.  I don't think I'd like the RW1 any less.

The only thing about that AOpen that struck me as odd was that it didn't support DDR-400 (which means that it might not support the higer-end Athlon XPs).  I guess it's not a huge deal though...

Considering that you already have the components for a PC, have you considered buying just a HTPC case?