Home network parallel universe

Microsoft’s vision for the digital home is taking shape. The company recently released the latest version of its Media Center 2005 operating system, and several PC makers (HP, Dell, Toshiba) are offering Media Center PCs, which include a TV tuner card that lets you record and store TV programs on the hard drive.

Media Center 2005 supports Media Center Extenders, which Dell, HP and Linksys debuted at the recent Digital Life Show in N.Y. Extenders wirelessly transmit content stored on a Media Center PC to a second TV or stereo system.

Media Center Extenders are large boxes that sit on top of (or under) the second TV or stereo system. Both the HP Media Center Extender x5400 ($299, now available) and the Linksys Media Center Extender WMCE54AG ($299, now available) use 802.11a wireless LAN technology to transmit video, while transmitting audio over 802.11g. If you haven't upgraded yet to a dual a/g wireless router, you’ll have to make this work, especially to stream HDTV.

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Microsoft’s vision for the digital home is taking shape. The company recently released the latest version of its Media Center 2005 operating system, and several PC makers (HP, Dell, Toshiba) are offering Media Center PCs, which include a TV tuner card that lets you record and store TV programs on the hard drive.

Media Center 2005 supports Media Center Extenders, which Dell, HP and Linksys debuted at the recent Digital Life Show in N.Y. Extenders wirelessly transmit content stored on a Media Center PC to a second TV or stereo system.

Media Center Extenders are large boxes that sit on top of (or under) the second TV or stereo system. Both the HP Media Center Extender x5400 ($299, now available) and the Linksys Media Center Extender WMCE54AG ($299, now available) use 802.11a wireless LAN technology to transmit video, while transmitting audio over 802.11g. If you haven't upgraded yet to a dual a/g wireless router, you’ll have to make this work, especially to stream HDTV.

But if you want the benefits of Media Center without upgrading your operating system or buying a new PC, there are some options.

You can bring the TV tuner capabilities of Media Center 2005 to an existing PC with Pinnacle’s new MediaCenter software. Combined with one of Pinnacle's TV tuners (external USB device, Model 100e, $119) or internal (PCI card, Model 100i, $99), you can record TV shows to your PC.

To transmit the media stream to a stereo in another room, Pinnacle offers its ShowCenter hardware. Like a Media Center Extender, the ShowCenter hardware connects to a separate TV or stereo system, and acts as a receiver for the content stored on a separate PC. The ShowCenter device costs $300 and comes with an 802.11g PC Card (that works only with the system).

Another option is Belkin’s PureAV RemoteTV system, which also lets you view video and listen to music between rooms wirelessly. The RemoteTV transmitter connects to a video source (cable box, satellite receiver, digital video recorder or a DVD/CD player) and transmits to the RemoteTV receiver, which connects to a TV, LCD or plasma display elsewhere. The device transmits over a proprietary wireless technology in the 5-GHz frequency within a 350-foot range, Belkin says.

The proprietary link delivers up to 40M bit/sec of throughput. Higher bandwidth improves video transmission, and an optional component video option improves resolution, Belkin says.

Proprietary technology can be a turn off. But if want to stream multimedia wirelessly without a PC, this is one way to do it. Shipping now, the system costs about $500.

If you only want to stream digital music and have a bigger budget, explore the Sonos Digital Music System. It includes the Sonos ZonePlayer, an audio player with an amplifier that connects to external speakers; and the Sonos Controller, a handheld color-screened device that lets you control the ZonePlayer wirelessly. The ZonePlayer connects to your multimedia content source, which can be a Media Center PC, but can also be a regular PC, or even a network-attached storage device, such as the Buffalo LinkStation.