Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:52 am
Help me build a system
My trusty Carver amp/receiver finally gave up the ghost after twenty years of service, so it's time to re-evaluate my listening / viewing habits and build a system around that. I probably listen to 95% of my music via MP3 and 90%+ of my TV viewing is via .AVI or similar. My current set-up includes an iPod connected with an RCA cable for audio and an Iomega Screenplay for TV.
But technology has moved along so much since I last bought something that I'm lost about where to start. Here's what I'd like to do with my system, ideally with as few boxes as possible:
- Watch .AVI files on my television, ideally stored directly on the device (and wirelessly). Right now I use an Iomega Screenplay to do this, but this has to be lugged upstairs to the PC and loaded via a USB cable. I'd like the same functionality but with the ability to store stuff wirelessly. Need at least 1.5TB storage, but ideally more than that with room to grow.
- Listen to MP3, again ideally stored directly on the device. I'd like a solution that doesn't involve having to turn on the TV to select a song, which I think rules out a Media Center PC. Maybe something like the Squeezebox (although this relies on external storage, as I understand it)?
- Listen to AM/FM radio
- Amplifier
- Needs to connect to my existing devices via RCA jacks: TV audio, CD player, DVD player, tape deck, etc
I live in Europe, so ideally I need something that runs on 220V and connects to a TV using a SCART cable.
Let's say budget < $3000 for everything.
But technology has moved along so much since I last bought something that I'm lost about where to start. Here's what I'd like to do with my system, ideally with as few boxes as possible:
- Watch .AVI files on my television, ideally stored directly on the device (and wirelessly). Right now I use an Iomega Screenplay to do this, but this has to be lugged upstairs to the PC and loaded via a USB cable. I'd like the same functionality but with the ability to store stuff wirelessly. Need at least 1.5TB storage, but ideally more than that with room to grow.
- Listen to MP3, again ideally stored directly on the device. I'd like a solution that doesn't involve having to turn on the TV to select a song, which I think rules out a Media Center PC. Maybe something like the Squeezebox (although this relies on external storage, as I understand it)?
- Listen to AM/FM radio
- Amplifier
- Needs to connect to my existing devices via RCA jacks: TV audio, CD player, DVD player, tape deck, etc
I live in Europe, so ideally I need something that runs on 220V and connects to a TV using a SCART cable.
Let's say budget < $3000 for everything.
