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Community Newsletter: Q&A: Integrating my computer as part of the entertainment center
- 8/1/08 3:04 PM
mP3 quality
by alaskagram - 7/26/08 12:55 PM In reply to: The Human Ear by peacemarauderIf you are a musician, or other audio professional, or the type of person who cares about the difference between vinyl and CD's, there is as much of a difference, as between cassettes and cd's.MP3 is a lossy compression,i.e. data is actually lost.It ignores 10 db or greater differences in information.This results in the lost of harmonic information which is clearly audible down to 5% with many being able to hear 1%.Compounding this is the fact that the average consumer doesn't understand bit rate vs. quality and goes for maximum storage at minimum quality.It may be capable of a higher quality but the manufactures nor the consumer seem to care.This is the crux of the matter.I have demonstrated to people many times that they can clearly hear differences between a $500.00 sound system and ones in the thousands of dollars.However many of them didn't care, which is a valid attitude.As a matter of fact many audio profeesionals(studio pro's)bemoan this lack of quality as a general attitude.This has resulted in a horrible abuse of compression(audio not data)to increase the apparent volume of a disc or file to the point of becoming unlistenable.Lossy formats,with the attitudes that come with it, are destroying the quality of the music being produced which in turn is destroying the whole music industry regardless the distribution technique.i.e. mindless music for mindless people.
Thank you
by adonnaru - 7/26/08 1:05 PM In reply to: mP3 quality by alaskagramfor your post. I am already aware that converting to mp3 is a dreadful option and that there is a considerable loss during compression even at the max peak bit rate of 320 kbps and hence am planning to retain them as just plain tracks. Anyway thank you once again for the answer. I was more kind of hoping that I would find an answer to the 'hooking up of the stereo to the computer' part (as to how it can be done efficiently / effectively).
S
not totally agreed...
by wiru - 8/1/08 3:31 AM In reply to: mP3 quality by alaskagramwell, most of your statement is absolutely right; especially your concern about the loss of quality (and the demand for quality!). but on the other hand i can not agree that mp3 quality is absolutely unacceptable (it depends -as you said!- on the sampling rate); and i am shure that 99% of all people can not hear (especially not with standard equipment, eg. computer (desktop) speakers, cheap 7.1 surround equipment aso.) the difference between a 320 bit mp3-compilation and a avarage quality wav-file on cd (most of the cds you can buy are of cheap quality, especially the dynamic range is very compressed). And yes, i have friends that can hear the percentage of oxygen in speaker cables...;-))
btw i use external audio card with 24bit/96kHz sampling rate, studio near field speakers and am quite happy with mp3...
MP3 Quality
by vatoDETH - 8/7/08 5:53 PM In reply to: The Human Ear by peacemarauderThat is not true. It depends on the quality/bit rate of the MP3. 192 mb/s is comparable to CD quality. 120 mb/s is okay, but not that great. The sound quality of a CD is not as full and dynamic as vinyl. When you listen to music on higher quality audio systems, it makes the difference more obvious. You can only hear good clear sound quality as the audio system is capable of.
I personally will not use 120 mb/s, because I think it sounds terrible. 192 mb/s is my minimum standard.
What about uncompressed .wav files?
by Scott Gardener - 7/26/08 5:22 AM In reply to: No way to MP3's by CRod67What about .wav files? Back in the ancient past of 1999, when we first started ripping CDs to the hard drive, the first programs required us to first copy the CD's digital information uncompressed, and then we had to use a second program, or at least a second step, to compress to mp3.
Granted, .wav files lack any equivalent to ID3 tags, and they take up ten times as much space, but they should be identical to the CD itself in terms of audio quality, as long as your computer is connected to real speakers instead of a pair of monitor ears. And, you can still sort files by folders and subfolders, contrary to the latest OS marketing ploys that want to talk us out of it. iTunes and Windows Media Player may gripe about missing tags, but with Terabyte hard drives available these days, you should still be able to have your cake and eat it, too.
CD players slow death.
by david. weston - 7/26/08 5:44 AM In reply to: No way to MP3's by CRod67Stay well clear of MP3 if you intend to listen to your music via your HiFi. However talk of keeping a CD transport/DAC/amp as the best way is now so wide of the mark. Choose a lossless format and a storage organiser, say iTunes but there are many out there. External hard drives/servers are as cheap as you want them to be. Google AVI ADM9.1 whcih will give you some idea of what is achievable. Then whether to direct wire or WiFi (Sonus, Squeezebox etc). As for video streaming the technology has yet to catch up. Your TiVo/PVR is probably safe for at least 1 more year!!
Copying movies & mp3's are just fine
by Al Oliver - 7/27/08 12:08 PM In reply to: CD players slow death. by david. westonWhat a laugh! Ignore the Nervous Nellies and and feel free to copy all your movies to your computer, even rented ones. So long as you are not sharing with the world via file sharing programs like Limewire, you have nothing to worry about. Just being connected to the internet will not allow someone to connect to your computer to explore your hard drive. Sure the occasional hacker might get in if you aren't well protected, but these folks aren't the type that'll go tattle-telling to the MPAA & RIAA.
And the idea that you might brag about your system to a friend who'll go running to "the authorities" is really "out there". I suppose that someone will dig up some one-in-a-million story, but the odds of that happening to you are astronomical and silly.
Oh and the thought that you are missing something if you use the mp3 format is ridiculous. Use 128 kbs or higher and you will never notice the difference between mp3's and a CD attached to a multi-billion dollar stereo system. Mercy, these people who have their ears attached to a speaker in a desperate attempt to hear some petty little difference between mp3's and a CD really need to find something better to do with their time. Actually, for the most part, they are just trying to justify the boat laod of money they spent on their system. Want to really hear a difference in your music, turn up the volume a smidgen.
Further, regularly image your entire computer via Acronis True Image, to an external hard drive and even if your drive in your computer fails, you'll be back up and running in no time.
There, I've set the world straight again.
Al
Connecting PC to TV
by rlandrycnet - 7/26/08 10:08 AM In reply to: Media Centers of the Future... by Wolfie2k5I have a 44" Sony 1080p HDTV and a HP Pavilion Elite M9000T PC with a blueray drive running on Vista Home Premium. I want to connect my PC to the TV either by hard wire or wireless and be able to control the PC in front of the TV. What cable and hardware do I need? I understand that an ethernet cable will work, if so what kind? CAT5, CAT6 or What? I understand that I will need a media center extender, if so what kind. Is some like the HP Mediasmart Center the kind I need or what. In addition to moving video from PC to the TV, I want to move music from my PC to the receiver next to my TV.
You can buy an HDTV with the Media Center built-in and Wi Fi
by twm219 - 7/28/08 11:50 AM In reply to: Media Centers of the Future... by Wolfie2k5HP makes an HDTV with the media center add-ons. It comes with software for your PC. It is very cool and way ahead of where I'm at technologically. You can purchase a TV tuner for your PC that allows you to pre-record certain channels and programs but you cannot put a DVD in your computer to play on the HDTV; there are copyright laws that prevent it. You can play your music; however, that's not much of a problem anyway.
good
by enius6 - 7/19/08 4:07 AM In reply to: Integrating my computer as part of the entertainment center by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
hay a good program to use is Media Portal 2 i have it and i use it a lot i recommend it.
PC with media center
by OttifantSir - 7/19/08 4:11 AM In reply to: Integrating my computer as part of the entertainment center by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
A computer nowadays will be cheaper and more versatile as a media center than anything. (When considering buying a stand-alone DVD-burner, amplifier, tuner and all other media-related)
How far along is it, you ask. With a little handywork, you can have absolutely anything media-related in one box:
- Digital TV
- Internet
- e-mail
- Blu-Ray playback and burning
- Surround Sound that will make your neighbours angry
- Internet phone system
- Answering machine for calls
- Instant messages
- Storage for all things media-related
- Game station (emulators are found for most any game console, so with a media-PC with sufficient power, you can usually play any console game.)
- iPod/MP3/MP4-player dock
- Office machine
- The list can go on further
If you really want to, you can have everything you want to, in one box. Even a monitor. There are several people that have made media-center PCs, or media-servers with a built-in screen (only 7" though, and no HD), and integrated speakers. That's space-saving in the extreme. If you are one of the non-converts to CD (you have vinyls), you can even play that on a media-PC. You'll need an external turntable though.
With computers, usually the only limitations you will encounter is the size of your wallet, knowledge of the possibilities, and knowledge of how to make it all work together.
To give you a clue as to how expensive this would be, I can give you my setup with my pricetag: Server with 3,5TB space, 1GB RAM, Core2Duo 1.6GHz and built-in surround sound on motherboard - apx $1200
Media-PC with 1TB space, 2GB RAM, Core2Duo 2.4GHz, Digital TV-card, screen card, and built-in surround sound on the motherboard - apx $1000
These are self-built machines, and it isn't hard to do. You will have to read a few manuals though (Ouch!). Upside is that you get exactly what you want, how you want it.
You might now be thinking about how it would look like with a giant PC in your living room, but my guess is that you're thinking about a tower PC-cabinet such as this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8913510@N02/2682242978/
But there are possibilities other than tower, such as: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8913510@N02/2682243068/
(These are only examples, there are a plethora of others to choose from)
Basically, the question here is: How much money do you have, and what do you want it to do? Luckily, if you find that you currently don't have enough money to buy/make a computer capable of everything you want it to, you can always expand it later on.
My recommendations for this:
- A lot of space. Harddrives are cheap.
- At least 2GB RAM (even if you choose to use a Linux distro, which usually don't have as high hardware requirements as Windows).
- Blu-Ray burner.
- Motherboard with at least 5.1 surround sound (or a dedicated soundcard) and FireWire (for downloading videos from your video camera and hook up external devices since it's faster than USB).
- Videocard with at least 256MB, support for OpenGL and DirectX, and DVI-port (with an adapter cable, you have an HDMI-out port)
- Fastest possible processor you can afford.
- HTPC, Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX cabinet (these are most likely to be living room-/girlfriend-/wife-friendly)
A computer can be a media center, is my conclusion here. It isn't just a component in a media center, it IS the media center. And you don't have to have several remotes to do things. With the proper software on the PC, a child able to read or old enough to recognize pictures and use a mouse properly will know how to use it. You also get rid of the "How do I watch a DVD-movie from the DVD-player connected to the TV-tuner that's connected to the amplifier that's connected to the speakers and TV?"
If you have any questions about what to get, ask. I cannot tell you where to get it unless you're from Norway, but I, and others here, can give you more specific names to google at least.
TV plus PC
by SweetPolly46 - 7/19/08 4:27 AM In reply to: Integrating my computer as part of the entertainment center by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
What a combination. For the last three months we have used this handy tool to watch movies as they are released. My ten year old loves it. We enjoy playing rpg as well. Thank you for the question. SweetPolly46
Media center
by wcrutcher - 7/19/08 4:57 AM In reply to: Integrating my computer as part of the entertainment center by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This method is on the horizon, but has a way to go. You must have a fast Internet connection for it to be viable. You must have a big hard drive. You can't burn a DVD for use in other places. You must have another peripheral attached to your TV/home theater to be able to send by your network from the PC if your PC is not physically attached. You would be better served to wait until the TV manufacturers incorporate this technology, as Sony is going to do.
RE: Media center
by celestialstar4u - 7/25/08 11:39 PM In reply to: Media center by wcrutcherI have to agree with you about the "fast internet connection" because if you plan on streaming media from, say, AppleTV you not only need the fastest connection, but 802.11n wireless connection as well.
Answer for Phil G. --Using PC as part of a home entertainmen
by dvgchef - 7/19/08 5:30 AM In reply to: Integrating my computer as part of the entertainment center by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have been using my PC as a simple storage device for a number of years. I go the low tech route, my laptop is plugged into the internet, plugged into the serial port of the TV and plugged into the electric outlet - its a bit messy, but I get to view all my images on a 32" screen instead of a 14" screen, plus watch movies and TV from different online sources. It's working so well that we are about to cancel our satellite TV hookup!
Looking forward to seeing what others are doing!
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