Posted by Sla#s on 05/31/07 16:40

cottonchipper wrote:
> I'm kicking around the idea of doing the following and would like
> input.
>
> I plan to buy an external 500 gigabyte drive for my PC and load every
> CD in my collection onto it in MP3 format. The drive will cost
> approximately $150.
>
> Next, I'll purchase the needed equipment to set up a wireless network,
> which I figure will run another $100. Am I correct in thinking
> 802.11g is the way to go?
>
> Next, I'll buy one of several competing devices (cd3o, d-link, etc.)
> that wirelessly stream music from the computer to a remote receiver
> that connects to my home stereo. Does anybody have a recommendation
> as to which brand and model works best? These seem to run anywhere
> from $99 up. I figure to spend probably $200.
>
> With this setup, for an investment of about $450 I should be able to
> maintain my entire music collection on the external hard drive, which
> can be moved from one computer to the next when I upgrade. Seems like
> a worthwhile investment to me.
>
> Any tips or ideas?

I did this a while back.
First I just used my main office machine through a wireless router to a
Netgear MP101.
Later I put in a second HD and moved all the media files on to that, still
running through the router to the MP101.
I then found my old Win 98 PC in the garage, I got it a S Video card and
hooked that up to my living room TV and Hifi and now stream movies from the
main Win XP PC in the office via the wireless network.
And yes 802.11g will do it on a good connection.

As for advice - I can't recomend the Netgear MP101 - it's far too "clunky" -
takes ages to log on to the network often taking several attempts. It also
frequently stops playing a song in the middle and goes on to the next one.
And it's server software is awfull! If you have to get one use
TwonkyVision - (there is a free version).
The old Win 98 PC works very well as a media streamer - the only
disadvantage is the fan noise during quite passages. I've also tried running
it on Ubuntu Linux and that works fine too.
What I intend to do next is replace the old PC with a "silent running" one
and not use Windows Vista due to the DRM overhead but stick with Ubuntu
which is getting better by the day :-)

Slatts

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