STREAM YOUR:
Everywhere In
Your Home!
S
itting in your Barcalounger, you are the
master of your digital domain. At your
fi ngertips are 300 recently recorded TV
programs, any of which is ready to roll at
your command. And digital media privileges
are not yours exclusively. In her bedroom,
your daughter grooves to a catalog of 25,
songs, while your wife, nestled cozily in
the den, watches any movie from your vast
collection. It’s all made possible with some
strategically placed Ethernet cable and a media
server discretely humming away in a closet.
A powerful media server is the centerpiece of
your digital home. Always on, it stores all of your
media in one convenient location that you can access
anytime from anywhere—your living room, bedroom,
or even a laptop in the backyard. The server needn’t be
a powerful machine by gamer standards, but it must be
confi gured with the right hardware and software, lest your
digital dream home become a nightmare.
A wired network is the glue that holds everything together. Wireless
networks are great for browsing the web and checking e-mail, but Wi-
Fi just doesn’t have the legs for streaming video. Wiring your home
gives you reliable, lightning-fast connections to all the rooms in your
home, and it’s easy to do. If you have an easily accessible crawl space,
basement, or attic, running Ethernet is a snap. All you need are the
right tools and a free afternoon or two.
Before you do anything, read this feature. Make sure you know
where you’re going to put your server, which rooms you’ll run your
wired network to, and where you’ll rely on wireless. If you plan carefully,
and follow our instructions, you can start on Saturday morning and be
streaming Blade Runner on Sunday night! It’s time to make your digital
dream home a reality!Music
TV
Movies
JUNE 2005 MA XIMUMPC
Wireless is
convenient, but it
doesn’t provide
enough bandwidth for
video streaming.
Luckily, i t’s easy
to wire your home
for seamless
transmission of digital
media of every stripe!
BY MICHAEL BROWN AND WILL SMITH
INSIDE:
NETWORK
YOUR
HOME!!
page 28
BUILD A
MEDIA
SERVER!!
page 32
BUY THE
PERFECT
STREAMING
BOX!!
page 36