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technology

The hottest media devices stream digital files from your computer to any room in your house—or the world.

I don’t have to tell you that you needn’t sit in front of your TV any more to watch a live TV program. The VCR began digging the grave for live TV in the 1980s, and TiVo nailed up the coffin in 1997.

But there’s a new revolution underway in home entertainment: It’s no longer just about when you watch your programming, but where you watch it, too. Thanks to a new generation of hardware (as well as some creative software), you can store movies and music on your PC, then play them in any room in the house. Taking a trip? You can load up your laptop or a portable player... or even beam media straight to your cell phone.

Here’s how.

STEP 1: Building your library on your PC

To get started with media streaming, you’ll need to build a centralized repository for your digital movies and music. You’ve probably already begun this with your tunes, assuming you have a collection of MP3s on your computer. If you haven’t already begun doing the same with movies, you’ll need to use software like the free DVD Decrypter (mrbass.org/dvdrip) to transfer a movie from DVD to your computer. You’ll also want to convert videos to MPEG or AVI format: AutoGK (autogk.me.uk) makes this easy.

It’s important to remember that, with only a few exceptions, you can’t play protected media through a media streamer: Songs downloaded from the iTunes Store and movies downloaded from CinemaNow or MovieLink won’t be accessible through this system due to the encryption of the files. But you can burn your iTunes files to an audio CD, then rip it back to your PC, and the encryption will be gone. Save both files, the encrypted one and non-encrypted one, just in case.

STEP 2: Choose a media center

The idea behind the media center is simple: It’s a box that attaches to your television or home theater receiver expressly to handle files on your PC. Virtually all are wireless, which lets them connect easily to your computer network, where you continue to maintain that ever-growing collection of movies and music.


Now that you have your files in a row, consider how you want to consume them. The D-Link MediaLounge DSM-520 ($200) and Buffalo LinkTheater PC-P3LWG/DVD ($280) are good examples of recent-vintage hardware that can handle both music and movies. The Buffalo even includes an integrated DVD player, which lets you eliminate one component from your home theater setup. Also, D-Link has a high-definition version of its player hitting the market soon.

If you only want to stream audio, the Sonos Digital Music System is a top-of-the-line device that lets you connect speakers directly to it. Using a large remote control with a wheel interface similar to the iPod, you can play songs from a hard drive connected to any of the Sonos devices on your network. At a pricey $500 per room, Sonos is a high-end solution for audio connoisseurs. Less expensive but equally capable solutions for audio-only streamers are the Roku SoundBridge M1001 ($150) and the Slim Devices Squeezebox ($299).

STEP 3: Taking your library on the road

Playing movies on TVs stationed throughout your home is one thing, but what about taking your entertainment on the road? The latest generation of iPods can play videos in a variety of formats. Apple added full-length movies and TV shows to the iTunes Store that you can download directly. Feature films cost $10–13 and can only be played on your computer or an iPod device.

Other companies make iPod-like products, typically with substantially larger screens. Archos is probably the best-known vendor in the market, with a full line of portable video players in various sizes. They range from the tiny Archos 404 ($300), with a 3.5-inch screen and 30GB of storage, to the Archos 604 WiFi ($450), which packs a bigger 4.3-inch screen, 30GB hard drive and Wi-Fi connectivity, so you can download movies from your PC wirelessly.

Similarly, SanDisk’s Sansa View, just-announced, should be on the market by the time you read this. It features the usual large, four-inch screen, but it foregoes the hard drive completely. Instead, it offers 8GB of flash memory and an SD slot, which lets you add additional movies via memory card. The $300 product’s lack of fragile, moving parts makes it perfect for those worried about damage to their gear thanks to slippery fingers.

But what if you have uploaded all your movie and music files on to your PC or media center at home, and you’re stuck thousands of miles away with a loaner PC from the office that completely lacks entertainment features? Think you’re out of luck? Surprise: You can still watch a movie or two, thanks to a couple of interesting products.

First is the Slingbox Pro ($250), a device that attaches to your home theater system just like a cable box or other component. The idea is simple: Using software, you can connect to your Slingbox from anywhere through the Internet. Slingbox lets you control your home setup completely: Play live TV, control your DVR in real time or watch whatever DVD you have loaded up. You can play the video on your laptop (PC or Mac), or even on a Windows Mobile smartphone (like a Motorola Q) if you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network or a high-speed cellular network. High-definition video is supported, too.

If your media is on your PC instead of your TV, check out Orb Networks MyCast, software that installs on your home computer and, like the Slingbox, lets you stream media to any other PC over the Internet. You just log in to the MyCast Web site and start watching. If you have a TV tuner attached to your PC, you can stream live television, too. Best of all, MyCast is completely free. Give it a try by visiting orb.com.orb.com.

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CHRISTOPHER NULL is a freelance writer based in San Francisco.