Daddy Dee Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 DrWho, I've noticed in a thread or two you've mentioned that a music server could be set up for about $300. I'd sure be interested to hear what you think of as possibilities for doing this so economically. My interest is probably having a music library in mp3 or better format for the two channel system. One thing I've noticed is that Dell sells IR (I think) remotes with some desktop and laptop systems using XP Media Center. Is this useable to navagate through the music library and starting up the media player? How much RAM would be needed for such a project? Any thoughts appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 Hope you don't mind me butting in but I have recommended the mini mac as the perfect choice for a music server. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70803/wo/vL2kXRrnolTK2msX1mh1gDmdlPA/0.SLID?nclm=Macmini&mco=E59FFEF8 It cost a little more but on the plus side it has a way cool interface, no need for virus or spyware software, and a very slim design. Also check out what others are doing with the mini mac. I would love one of these for my truck but lol.... http://www.apple.com/macmini/bigideas.html I've seen a remote for the imac so it should be available for the mini mac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 Another option you might consider is an AudioTron. Your existing computer would server the files using normal windows file sharing and the AudioTron sits in your equipment rack and you access all your music from it. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted December 23, 2005 Author Share Posted December 23, 2005 Seti and Shawn, Thanks. Interesting gear to consider there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 The approach I would take would be to purchase a very basic simple computer...just make sure it has at least 512MB Ram. Here is an option from Dell that is a bit overkill just to give you an example: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DB110A&s=dhs If you go to your local computer shop you should be able to get a slightly lesser computer for much less. I know at PC Mart you can get a bare bones system for about $200...so with the sound card you're looking at $300 total. You don't need a very large internal HD and I would highly recommend storing your music on an external one (it gives you far more flexibility). So just make sure your pc and external HD both support USB2.0 or firewire. As far as software, I've had great results using winamp which is completely free and can do everything you could ever think of. Your local computer shop should also be able to hook you up with low noise fans getting your noise floor down to around 30dB, which will be basically inaudible from the listening position. Another approach would be to install the pc in an adjacent room (or in the attic above, or the basement below) and then simply run your audio cable through the wall. There are also RF remotes available if you wanted to control the computer through the wall...I think the setup/software is around $150? I forget, but I know jmalotky is using one and loves it. If you wanted to take the computer to the next level, then you might consider using it for DVD playback as well....especially if you have a projector. This would just be another $200 investment in a quality video card; like the ATI All in Wonder cards. I think you'll be fine with just 512MB of Ram, but you might consider stepping it up a notch (like 1GB). The only downside with this approach is that you must have a digital output on your sound card unless you want to purchase more software (though you should probably be running the digital out anyway). As far as "viruses" and all that garbage....you do NOT have to worry about it if the computer is not connected to the internet. If you get an XP machine you will need internet access at least once in order to "activate" windows....during that time you should go ahead and install all the software updates and all the latest drivers. There are some improvements added to the way windows handles multimedia, which greatly improve the quality. But once you get your computer up and running, then there will be no need to have access to the internet. If you plan on having multiple computers sharing the same music files then you can simply connect your computer to your home's network...and then it doesn't really matter which computer has the files on them as long as they're "shared." I believe winamp has streaming capabilities too, to which any computer could connect and then be playing the exact same music. With a "multi-channel sound card" you should also be able to route seperate audio signals....like you could have music playing in your HT and then have a whole house system playing something else. Anyways, there's certainly more than one way to do everything, but I've always preferred the pc approach simply because it is more versatile. And there are so many more things you can do too that I haven't mentioned so far. I also believe that a pc based playback system is superior to any CD/DVD player when done correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted December 24, 2005 Share Posted December 24, 2005 Absolute cheapest music sever? An X-box, the original one. You can have the hard drive upgraded, stock ones are not that big. $219 cdn new, or $ 99 cdn at pawn shops everywhere here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted December 25, 2005 Author Share Posted December 25, 2005 Gentlemen, Thanks. Good options here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whamo Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 Myself I use a laptop and I store all my favorite cd's on it. I have like 130 or so titles on it. So far that's only used about 20 gigs so far. I wouldn't use the mp3 format though it sounds awful. I can hook it up to my bedroom system, living room system, car etc. I even have a yamaha natural sound receiver at work with some realistic 3-way speakers and we use it as a virtual jukebox. Everyone picks stuff they like and we put it on random play. I will be looking for a better sound card for this set up in the future but I love this setup myself. Take care, Mark Also if you really wanted a remote you could get a wireless optical mouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 Mark, Thanks. That's a pretty easy solution. What format recording do you prefer to MP3? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 I too rip all my CD's as .wav files...which is completely lossless (44.1kHz, 16-Bit is the redbook audio standard - which is what CD's are encoded with). Disk space is real cheap too, like $1 per GB. If you're going to use a laptop, then I would highly recommend going with an external USB/firewire sound card. It gets the DAC outside of the computer and they sound infinetly cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 check out the Snapstream Firefly. software and remote control $49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whamo Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 Like Dr. who said wav files are the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted December 27, 2005 Author Share Posted December 27, 2005 Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooting_monkey Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 HD space is cheap, unless your using a Mac Mini or a laptop, which use 2.5" hard drives. These come at a max capacity of 100gb and can run as much as $300 for a 7200rpm model. The Xbox is def the best solution. I use one right now, and with a little bittorrent searching you can find XBox Media Center, which supports nearly all audio, video, and picture formats. It also supports dvds, Dolby Live (realtime Dolby encoding), streaming audio, video, and images via SMB and Windows network sharing, copying via FTP, ripping, CDDB, lyrics, voice removal, visualizations, shoutcast, and with 3rd party scrips, can get tickers for stocks and sports, streaming vidoes and rss feeds, and bittorrent. Not to mention the playback of games from the hard drive, which means a disc is no longer needed. The only drawback is you can not use the Xbox for Xbox Live, which shouldn't be a problem if you will only be using it as a media center. You can usually get yourself hooked up with a 250gb soft modded Xbox for about $300. Usually it comes loaded with a bunch of games, and it's not hard to FTP your own programs to the Xbox. Not to be rude, but I think this would trump just about any other media center you could get for under $500. It has decent analog out, has an actual digital out with a seperate AV pack, doesn't need any antivirus or antispyware software, programs don't root themselves into your os, so removal of programs is literally as easy as deleting a folder, can just use the TV as a monitor, doubles up as a DVD player, more hard drive space than anything you can get for under $500, and you can use it as a gamming rig on the side. I use a wireless Logitech controller, which works well as a remote. Can you get analog fast forward, rewind, and volume controls on a standard remote? I think not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooting_monkey Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 Here are some screenshots of the interface: Main Menu (video or visualization shows up in backround depending on what you are doing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooting_monkey Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 My Music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooting_monkey Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 DVD Playback and Volume window (fades in and out when you adjust it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooting_monkey Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 Album Information (looks up online) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooting_monkey Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 Visualization Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooting_monkey Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 Lyrics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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