Home Stereo (2000)

Home Stereo

Connecting a PC to a Stereo System

Connecting your PC to your stereo system may actually be the easiest thing you do, when it comes to digital music. Essentially all you need is a quality cable with a 1/8-inch stereo mini-plug for your computer's end and two RCA plugs for the receiver's end. The only tricks are to make sure that you buy a stereo (not mono) mini-plug and that it is plugged into the line-out socket, not the speaker socket (the speaker socket has amplification built in) on your PC. Once you've done that and connected the RCA plugs into one of the input jacks on your receiver (or amplifier), you're ready to let the whole world know about your MP3s.

MP3Anywhere by X10.com Price: $88 Homepage | Purchase

Using a 2.4gHz wireless transmitter, MP3 Anywhere allows you to play MP3s on your computer and transmit them to any room in your house that has a stereo. Using a wireless remote/mouse, MP3 Anywhere allows full integration with most popular MP3 players. The kit comes with a wireless remote/mouse, which has a range of about 100 feet, as well as multiple power supplies. It's easy installation and high quality sound make MP3 Anywhere a great solution for playing MP3s throughout your home.

AudioReQuest by AudioReQuest Price: $799.95 Homepage | Purchase

Designed to connect with home entertainment systems, AudioReQuest is the first consumer product that encodes audio compact discs directly into CD-quality digitally compressed music. The unit includes a CD player that allows users to store personal compact disc collections of up to 6000 songs, doing away with manually changing CDs while listening to different albums. All of your music is accessible from one central location and entire music collections can be arranged and saved in playlists. Music listeners with collections of audiocassettes or LP records can digitally encode their favorites through AudioReQuest's Line-In Input and can also download digital music directly from a PC or the Internet through a parallel connection. Connect it to your television and watch animations bounce to the beat of songs as they play!

Internet Encoder by Audioactive Homepage | Purchase

The Telos Systems' dedicated hardware-based encoder offers more processing power than systems bound to general purpose CPUs. A multiple DSP-chip compression engine performs enhanced MPEG Layer 3 bitrate reduction, the most powerful audio method endorsed by the competitive MPEG standards process. A pro-grade 18 bit analog-to-digital converter ensures the best possible quality at the conversion stage. The hardware encoder interfaces with professional gear, utilizing standard pro-grade connectors. Audio input is via balanced analog (XLR) or digital (AES/EBU) inputs. Outputs are RS-232 or TCP/IP. The front panel has an LCD display and LED input metering. Each Internet encoder generates a single bitrate audio stream; multiple units may be used to serve streams to users at multiple rates that are compatible with Microsoft's Media Technologies NetShow Server 3.0 and the Microsoft Media Player. Each encoder is bundled with the Audioactive NetSuite CD ROM, with Telos' Multimedia Driver, Audioactive Production Studio and the Microsoft Media Technologies Server Package.

Brujo by netDrives Price: $299.99 Homepage | Purchase

The Brujo is an MP3 player from netDrives that acts like your stereo CD player. The package includes a remote control, headphones, two RCA audio cables, AC adapter, two AAA batteries, and a pre-compiled MP3 CD of the music genres of your choice. Connect the BRUJO directly into your home stereo system and enjoy the music on your .mp3 files free, clear and completely separate from your PC. Just download your favorite MP3 music files from the net then transfer them onto a CD-R or CD-RW. Brujo automatically recognizes both MP3 formatted discs and standard music CDs and supports CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, ISO-9660, and MPEG1 & 2 Audio Layer III. It can play over 200 .mp3 files, programs up to 63 selections and has shuffle, repeat and scan mode. .

Irman by evation.com Price: $35 Homepage | Purchase

The Irman (Infrared man) is a small utility that gives you the ablility to control your PC through the remote from your TV, VCR, CD or Stereo. In doing so, you can forward through your MP3 library, all while being in the next room. Irman is essentially able to intercept and recognize the infrared signals transmitted from just about any remote control. It converts these signals into recognizable command for your software applications, thus giving you the ability to control your computer from a distance. .

RaV6 Tape Drive by Indigita Price: $599 Homepage | Purchase

The RaV6 is an advanced designed tape drive that comes accompanied by its customized file management software. The TapeTrax File System software for Win95/98, or DeskTape Pro for the Mac allows for drag-n-drop file management and the ability to record and "click'n'play" audio, video and Internet files directly from tape. The RaV6 has 4MB of cache for rapid file retrieval, and uses the advanced DVDS (Digital Video Data Storage) format to store 6GB of native data on a standard DDS-2 tape. The drive can store 3 hours of video or 100 CDs of MP3 encoded audio on a single cartridge. .

MP3 OnDemand by Versatile Visions Systems Price: $300 Homepage | Purchase

Originally intended to be a car unit, the MP3 OnDemand system enables playing of MP3 files using a remote control system. It can also be used in automotive use in that he controller can be removed from its base. A standard cell phone mount is all that's needed to secure use in the car. The cord-dependent unit connects to any standard serial port and includes software that allows you to search the file list sequentially, alphabetically or play songs at random. It also features an LCD readout that can be read in direct sunlight or complete darkness. Up to 99 songs can be programmed to play in succession. Mp3 OnDemand currently supports the Windows95/98/NT platforms. .