|
|
Computing
All The Music, Half the Cables:
Laptops as Stereo Sets
by Verena Wolff
Stuttgart
Laptop, printer, television, stereo set, and DV-R: It
doesn't take long for a household to look like an
electronics mart, with a long, confusing cable jungle
running along the floor.
But there's another way: the laptop as the central music
server, dishing out music for personal use and for parties
alike. What's needed is a good piece of organizational
software on the laptop for the record collection and two
carefully chosen investments in hardware.
One free, yet highly recommended, piece of software is
Apple's iTunes, available for download from the Apple
website, says Christine Tantschinez, sub-editor with German
Audio magazine.
Windows PCs come with Media Player already built in and that
software offers similar functionality, says Volker Zota from
German c't magazine. Those looking to buy commercial
software have many options: Software like MP3 Maker from
Magix costs around $40, as do programmes from the Nero
family.
Hardware investments are necessary to get the best possible
sound. The first is for the computer itself. "Internal
on-board soundcards just don't produce fantastic sound,"
Tantschinez says. The expert recommends external sound cards
that are connected via USB.
"They have high quality outputs, often for multi-channel
sound too and digital audio output as well." The cards cost
between $90 and $150.
The biggest investment is generally dedicated to the speaker
system. There are several factors to be considered in
advance. Small speakers or an entire surround sound system;
wireless or cable-based; and what kind of music is going to
be played back using the hardware?
"The selection and price spectrum for such systems is
large-there are sets for $20 and others for $2,000,"
Tantschinez says.
Another alternative is to designate the computer as an
external signal source for the stereo. A WLAN bridge can be
used for a wireless connection of the HiFi set and the
computer. Both devices can then be put anywhere in the
house.
One advantage with this set up is that no new hardware is
needed. The computer simply works as a virtual CD changer.
Electronics companies are working with this technology as
well, such as the "Streamium" product line from Philips.
"Computer and stereo communicate using a wireless network,"
says Klaus Petri, Philips spokesman.
Apple has also refined this principle for its laptops,
calling it "Airport Express." It's intended to make the
clinch cable, which connects computer and stereo, a thing of
the past.
"A base station is the size of a pack of cigarettes and
sends out data using WLAN standard 802.11g at a speed of up
to 54 MBit per second," Georg Albrecht, Apple spokesman,
says.
A mini clinch connection allows for other audio devices to
be hooked into the base station, not the computer. "iTunes
handles the wireless transfer of MP3 or AAC data," Albrecht
says. The station receives the data, decompresses it and
forwards it to the stereo as analog audio data.
March 12, 2006
By arrangement
with DPA
Top
|
Computing
|
|
