High Quality Audio Patched to Stereo – Does WHS have any Features in that Area?
I received an email from one of our blog readers Scott Mathews, who asked the following:
Hey Philip, I’m in the middle of a total redesign of my home network, and only just discovered WHS (I was goggling for “NAS vs USB” and some posts favored WHS).
Part of my goal is to get high quality PC-based audio patched into the stereo — does WHS have any features in that area, or is it more of a home backup solution?
(I’d be totally happy to share the particulars of the solution that I’ve been considering, and I’m totally open to switching to a WHS solution).
thanks! -Scott
UPDATE 1: Scott has rephrased his question with a clearer idea of what he’s trying to do.
Can I get audio out of the WHS box, via USB and/or a sound card?
Here’s the idea: if I can install something like WMP on the WHS box, and can patch the audio out from the WHS box into the stereo, then I can use Remote Desktop to browse and play everything I have stored on the WHS box — my WI-FI laptop becomes a universal control.
That might sound complicated at first, but it’s actually quite simple, and then I could use the WHS box *both* as a storage/backup hub and *also* as a media source to other stuff at home (stereo, etc) — for me, it make the WHS literally twice as useful.
UPDATE 2: Scott aka turnstyle also asked this question over on the WHS forums in a thread entitled Can a WHS box itself play audio?
I’ll hand this one other to you guys (and girls!) to help a fellow reader.
Share this WHS Article with Others:
Scott, with the right adapters you can connect any PC to your stereo system. If you are talking about high quality, I assume you want 5.1 Dolby or better. In that case, you’ll likely want to connect your computer to the digital input on your stereo receiver/amplifier. If your computer doesn’t have a digital output than you can get one via USB Sound Adapter (such as Turtle Beach $30/Audio Advantage Micro).
A common issue is that your PC is not located near your stereo system and/or is not ideal to do so. To deal with that you’ll need to think about wireless audio transmission or streaming.
There are several products on the market that enable you to wirelessly pipe sound from your PC to your stereo system. You plug PC audio into a transmitter device and plug the receiver device into your stereo system. It works, but you have to be at your PC to direct what you want to be played.
Streaming is probably the most flexible and powerful solution. Its also going to cost abit more. The added cost comes from the devices you will need to receive the streamed content. You can use your PC to stream. And if you want to centralize your media (great idea if you have a laptop or multiple PCs) than Windows Home Server is an ideal solution.
Some devices available to stream content from Windows Home Server.
– XBox 360
– Roku Soundbridge
http://www.rokulabs.com/products_soundbridge.php
– Sonos
http://www.sonos.com/products/index.htm
I’m just dabbling in this area myself, but have run across a few options. My main interest is streaming Xvid videos to my TV and my 8 gb of music to my stereo.
It seems you need some kind of media server software. Now, I’ve looked at TVersity, Sage TV and to tie it in with a Dlink DSM320 to do both my music and vids. I’m getting my DSM-320 next week to try this gig out. Of course it is running on WHS 😉
There are some music only server software and matching hardware packages like the Roku and Squeezebox and Soundbridge. It would depend of if there software is Windows Server 2003 compatible …if it is it should be ok on WHS.
It will also depend on the quality and features you need. There is the end of my knowledge on the topic 😉
Google each and check them out.
Oh, and no matter what software you choose, you’ll need to set it up as a service on WHS so it runs even when you’re not logged into the desktop…..
Hi TheJudge,
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
I have a “media sharing” set up already with WHS. The WHS box is connect to my Windows MCE PC (wired LAN connected through a router) and a SlimDevices SqueezeBox is connect to the music on the WHS box (via a wireless G connection).
Videos, TV and photos can then be streamed from the WHS to my MCE, and music can be streamed to the SqueezeBox (which is in turn connected to my stereo).
It works well.
The only issue with the SqueezeBox at the moment is that it needs to connect to it SlimServer software (which is currently installed on my MCE PC) rather than running directly from the WHS. I assume a SlimServer add-in will be made available soon. This isn’t an issue for me as my MCE PC is always switched on, and so SlimServer is always available.
Hope this helps.
Cheers