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Techno-files
With computers, too, necessity spawns invention
By Riley Gay

Here’s the problem: You’ve amassed a plethora of MP3s, digital movies and photo files on your PC’s hard drive, but your big screen TV and stereo system, ideally suited to display these files, are either in another room or are otherwise unconnected to your PC. So you’re forced to view your multimedia files on a comparatively meager desktop monitor and listen to your digital music on tiny speakers.

And, unless your family and friends are willing to huddle around your computer desk, they’re likely to be feeling just a bit left out.

You’re probably thinking there really ought to be some way to share and enjoy your digital media files in the comfort of your living room or family room, using your home’s entertainment center.

And, judging from the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, product manufacturers couldn’t agree more.

A prevalent theme from this year’s CES centered on bridging the abyss that exists between home electronics and the PC, and manufacturers showed off a number of products with an eye toward making this digital synergy a reality.

One solution, at least according to Microsoft, would be to fashion a single device that is capable of fulfilling both your computing and entertainment needs.

To that end, Hewlett Packard created the Media Center PC, a hybrid product that features a specially designed Microsoft XP operating system that makes it easier to store, manage and play your digital media files, and comes with all hardware to handle the duties required by a full-featured multimedia PC.

Best suited for use where space is limited, such as a small apartment or college dorm room, the HP Media Center PC is a reasonably good first step in melding the two technologies, but its audio and video capabilities may not be enough to satisfy the truly discerning consumer.

Alienware’s Navigator systems are similarly designed to blur the line between home electronics and the PC, and are stylish and compact enough to fit in just about anywhere.

For those who already have both a computer and a high-end entertainment system, the best solution may be to find a way to send data between the two, and manufacturers have begun to respond with specialized products that can do just that.

One of the more intriguing new gadgets to reach the market is the RCA Lyra Wireless RD900W--a $99 device that allows you to wirelessly transmit music from your PC to your stereo system, and comes with its own remote control.

With it you can not only stream PC-based audio files to your home entertainment system, but you can use the RD900W to listen to Internet radio stations through your home stereo, as well.

Xitel's $49 HiFi-Link is another device that connects your PC to your stereo receiver, allowing you to play a variety of sound files through your home audio system. It connects to your PC’s USB port, and comes complete with enough cable to reach your A/V receiver, even if your PC is located in a different room.

Several new, and soon-to-be-released, products have been designed to tap into the rapidly expanding number of wireless networks installed in homes.

The Go-Video D2730 Networked DVD Player from SonicBlue, for example, will let you stream digital video and still images from your computer directly to your A/V receiver and TV across your wireless network.

Although its $249 price tag doesn’t include a wireless network card, one can be added for around $70.

Those without a wireless network can still connect a PC via wired Ethernet, if you don’t mind snaking cable throughout the house. The included DVD player is top-notch, so if you’re already looking to upgrade from your current DVD player, the D2730 might just bear serious consideration.

Prismiq’s MediaPlayer ($250) is another product that is designed to take advantage of your existing wireless setup to create a home entertainment network, and will also let you surf the Web from the comfort of your living room.

Consumer electronics veteran Onkyo has similarly launched its own device that will connect to your wireless network to shuttle a variety of PC-based media files and Internet radio stations to your PC.

The NC-500 ‘Net-Tune’ receiver ($400) includes a 20W per channel stereo amplifier with a built-in AM/FM tuner and auxiliary inputs if you want to add an external cassette recorder or CD player.

The NC-500 can work as a stand-alone receiver, or can be added to an existing home audio system.

These products, and others like them, are just the first wave of devices designed to bridge the gap between consumer electronics and your PC.

In fact, it seems the computer and electronics industries are in a race with one another to get networked products into the hands of consumers.

Coming soon, for example, will be networked versions of TiVo’s popular personal video recorder, as well as the Sony PlayStation2 gaming console. Both will be capable of sending media files back and forth across your wireless network.

For the first time, the computer and consumer electronics industries seem to be heading in the same direction, creating products intended to bring both technologies closer together, and giving the consumer the choice of how and where to enjoy their digital entertainment.

Neighbor Riley Gay is Wrangler News’ director of technical services.

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