Home Entertainment Integration through Wireless Media Players

Home Entertainment and Wireless Integration

All coming together as one!

The concept of wireless integration in home entertainment is more than just adding a set of wireless speakers in a second room.

Rather, it encompasses access to all form of digital content present on any of your networked PCs, as well as direct access (with or without the use of a PC) to online content via your broadband internet connection.

The scope is to enjoy this same content on your home entertainment system. In other words, a wireless home entertainment setup gives you the possibility to enjoy your digital media and Internet-driven TV/video content in its full glory over a big screen HDTV and a proper surround sound system instead of a small PC monitor and those miniature PC or laptop speakers.

The good news is that wireless technology is no longer exclusive to users that are technically proficient. Today's AV gear is easy to set up.

Rather, thanks to the use of wireless media players and the latest range of Wi-Fi enabled home theater systems and HDTVs with DLNA-support and Internet connectivity, it is fairly easy and relative inexpensive to expand your wireless network from simple home-office use to a fully integrated home entertainment solution.

In addition, thanks to the extensive range of Internet-driven Apps or widgets available on the latest Internet-connected HDTVs and Blu-ray players, you can literally ditch that monthly TV subscription and still enjoy your favorite TV programs. And if your HDTV or Blu-ray player does not support Internet connectivity, it is no problem at all! An inexpensive $100 video streaming player such as the Roku XD|S can still bring you all the entertainment you can dream of thanks to online services such as Netflix, Amazon Video-on-Demand, Hulu Plus, and much more.

There are a number of relatively simple and inexpensive options that will help bring together your PC, internet connection and you home entertainment system.

This approach to home entertainment integration gives you the possibility to enjoy the best of both worlds. The PC makes it easy to browse, download, store, and manage digital media, while your home entertainment system gives you the possibility to enjoy the best in picture and sound. It is true that the PC is becoming less of a necessity in that with most of today's Internet-enabled HDTVs, you can easily select and view online movie content straight on your TV without the use of a PC. It is interesting to note that with some of the HDTVs we will see in 2011, you will even get a sort of built-in Internet Browser straight on your TV.

However, integrating your PC in your home entertainment solution enhances your home entertainment in that it leaves you with a lot more options - in particular when it comes to media downloads, file support, storage and media conversion and management. All you need is just a decent computer, a broadband internet connection, and a wired or wireless home network. You also require a wired or wireless media player, or a Wi-Fi enabled home entertainment system or HDTV with DLNA support.

In reality, it is the wired or wireless media player that is the only additional item in the whole PC-Home Entertainment integration equation; all the rest is just part of your home networking and home entertainment systems.

Wired/Wireless Digital Media Players

Media Players come with a remote control and an intuitive on-screen menu accessible through your HDTV or home theater monitor - that lets you browse through audio and video media files on your network; some include also direct access to online internet services as well. Setting up a wireless digital media player is a simple straightforward process that would not take more than an hour or so.

Even if you have a computer with a Windows operating system that includes the Windows Media Center such as Windows 7 Home Premium, Ultimate and Enterprise versions as well as Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate editions, you can use your Xbox 360 or a Media Center extender such as the Cisco-Linksys unit to stream your favorite Internet TV shows, digital audio and video, photos, movies and much more on your big screen TV anywhere in the house,

In addition, there is also a wide range of dedicated wireless media players, often referred to as wireless digital media boxes, video boxes, or instant media players that do take away the need to be tied to a PC. Digital players in this category include the Roku XD|S 1080p Video Streaming Player already referred to above; this is an upgraded version of the original Roku video box and that let you stream video-on-demand content via the Web from Netflix and Amazon and much more. The Roku XD|S is a dual-band wireless-N technology player meaning that it can operate over either the 2.4GHz or the 5.8GHz band; the latter is significantly less congested and as such would give you a much higher streaming bit-rate though as we will see later on in this article, over a somewhat shorter distance than 2.4GHz devices.

The new Apple TV does not come with a built-in hard disk as is the case with the original Apple MB189LL/A; the latter did include an integrated 160GB hard disk. However, the new Apple TV is more compact and much cheaper, and comes with an updated list of Internet services you can stream content from apart from the iTunes Store and the huge catalog of Netflix titles. However, unlike the Roku player, the Apple TV also allows you to enjoy media files from your home computer straight on your HDTV and home theater system.

Somewhat more expensive is the TiVo TCD746320 Premiere DVR, but the TiVo is not just the typical wireless media player that streams digital media content direct from Netflix and Amazon video-on-demand,  but can also record up to 45hours of HD programming over its 320GB internal hard disk.

These digital media players represent a simple straightforward solution to cutting off that $100 a month Cable or Satellite TV subscription bill. Surely appealing at a time when the economy is passing through such bad times and everyone is looking for ways to cut costs.

Admittedly, when it comes to these digital media boxes, doing away with your TV subscription depends on the content you like to watch. In addition, there is no such wireless media player yet that offers everything one would dream of from top movies and TV shows to local and live TV programming. However, the market is still evolving and you can expect more and more of your favorite TV shows to become available online in the coming months.

Meanwhile, the idea of cutting off that TV subscription bill is already a reality!

Today's wireless media players, Media Center extenders, and Wi-Fi enabled home entertainment systems make home entertainment integration a simple reality. These devices give you full access - through a wireless link - to all your networked digital content, whether it's on a PC, or accessible online through your internet broadband connection.

Digital Media Content at your Service: How about taking advantage of this new world of wireless home entertainment?

First... a few Wireless Network Basics!

Integrating your home PC and broadband Internet connection with your home entertainment system is definitely easily accessible - whether through say an Internet-connected HDTV or a wireless media player.

Yet, streaming of HD multimedia content is a bandwidth-demanding activity which you need to plan for if you want to avoid choppy playback. The best option in a wireless setup is the use of 802.11n wireless technology. But that in itself is no guarantee you will get the best results. Maintaining sufficient data throughput and adequate wireless network bandwidth is critical.

We discuss these issues in our Wireless Network Basics guide. This basic guide to wireless networks explains the different 802.11 variants and their implications in terms of data throughput and wireless range. We also discuss streaming of multi-media content, 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz dual-band and dual-radio operation, and bandwidth management in wireless networks.

Security in Wireless Home Entertainment:

Security is becoming more critical in wireless networking as the use of wireless technology is increasing in popularity - partly as a result of the ease of use of modern wireless technology, as well as the added convenience of not having to install any connecting cables.

Unfortunately, many would often skip over this issue of wireless security especially when implementing a wireless home entertainment system. It is as if there are no network security risks when installing wireless media players and Wi-Fi enabled entertainment solutions! However, the reality is that a poorly protected Wi-Fi network is an open invitation for hackers to access your system.

For our guide to wireless security in home entertainment, please check our Wireless Security Basics article. We discuss the different encryption protocols, as well as what WPS is all about. We also highlight a few simple steps you should take to help improve the security of your wireless networking activity.

Wireless Home Entertainment Solutions

Wi-Fi enabled home entertainment gear versus wireless media players.

Wireless-Enabled Home Entertainment Systems

Wireless-enabled systems come in various forms, from cable and satellite set-top boxes and home theater systems, to personal TV recorders and Blu-ray players. Include to this list of Wi-Fi enabled and Internet-connected gear, the ever expanding array of Internet-enabled HDTVs.

Major companies like Samsung, LG, Sony, Vizio, etc., are all offering home entertainment solutions that include a variety of built-in apps, or widgets that let you stream multi-media content straight to your big screen TV from services such as Netflix for movies and TV shows, BLOCKBUSTER for the latest movie releases, YouTube and Twitter for user-generated content, Pandora free internet music service and more.

Among the best-selling and relatively inexpensive Internet-enabled systems, one finds the Samsung BD-C6500 and BD-C6900 1080p Blu-ray disc players; both come with built-in Wi-Fi, Internet streaming services and DLNA-support. The LG BD570 Network Blu-ray Disc Player and the Sony BDP-S570 3D player also come with very similar functionality as the Samsung models; both fall within the same price bracket as the corresponding Samsung models - offering a good blend of performance and convenience for a relatively affordable price.

And if what you are after is a complete home theater system rather than just a Blu-ray player, well, built-in Wi-Fi, DLNA support, and Internet TV driven content are becoming rather common features even on inexpensive mid-range products. The Samsung HT-C6900W and the Sony BDV-E770W Blu-ray Player home entertainment systems both come with 1000W of total audio power over a 5.1 speaker set-up, include a Blu-ray player with 3D support, and built-in Wi-Fi. The latter means you do not need to spend an extra $70 or so for a USB wireless adapter. Both systems also come with wireless surround speakers with the real differences between the two being that the Samsung misses on a headphone output, something which Sony has conveniently included on one of the rear wireless speakers, meaning it is closer to your seating position.

Admittedly, the ever increasing presence of wireless-enabled home entertainment systems means that in most cases, your networked TV or Blu-ray player may very well provide you with the functionality of a wireless media player as well; all that would be required is to install and set-up the accompanying DLNA server software on your PC and there you go!

But if your home entertainment solution do not include DLNA support and you still want to stream multi-media content straight from any of your PCs to enjoy on your big screen TV and home theater speakers, then all you need is one of the latest inexpensive wireless media players. In most cases, these also give you Internet access to various streaming services in a similar manner to what you find on Internet-enabled TVs. Yet there is more...

Wireless Media Players

The classical stand-alone wireless media player is a wireless adapter specifically designed for multi-media use. Wireless media players let you pull digital content over your Wi-Fi network using either 802.11g or 802.11n technology, and interfaces with your home entertainment system via the usual AV interconnects.

Relatively inexpensive, wireless media players provide for ease of integration of audio and video content from say a PC, the internet, or any other device accessible through your home network, and your home entertainment system.

Unlike Wi-Fi enabled music centers and wireless home entertainment gear which come with their own amplifiers, speakers, etc., wireless media players have to sit 'atop' other home entertainment systems (home-theater-in-a-box, AV receiver, HDTV, etc.), while pulling content from anything that is on your home network.

The main advantage of stand-alone wireless media players is that in most cases, these dedicated streaming boxes come with a richer feature set in comparison to wireless-enabled home entertainment centers. Stand-alone wireless media players would normally support a far wider and complete range of audio and video file formats, and come with an easy-to-navigate intuitive on-screen menu which you can display on your existing TV. Through this on-screen menu, you can choose the digital content to pull from any computer on the home network or internet connection.

We have already referred to a number of wireless media players earlier on in this article, with the Roku XD|S and the Apple TV MC572LL/A (2010) being definitely among the most popular and least expensive wireless multimedia streaming players on the market.

The Western Digital WD TV Live Plus HD media player represents another inexpensive media streaming option that apart from capable of playing practically any type of media file, it also provides full HD video playback up to 1080p and access to Internet driven content like Netflix, YouTube, Pandora and the like, in a similar manner to what you find on Internet-connected HDTVs.

Yet, the real plus of the Western Digital WD TV is that you can connect multiple USB2.0 mass storage devices to its two USB ports. The media player will then collect the content on all the drives into one play list - sorted by media type. The only caveat is that the Western Digital comes as wireless-ready rather than a true wireless media player. Not much of an issue but you need to buy a compatible wireless USB adapter to use the WD as a wireless media player.

Instead, the ASUS O!Play Air - Wireless N TV HD media player comes with built-in 802.11n connectivity over the 2.4GHz band. On the negative side, the ASUS does not include Internet access but otherwise, it comes with an almost identical feature set to that of the WD TV media player. The main advantage of the ASUS is that it includes support for an external hard drive over its USB 2.0 / eSATA combo port; the latter is some 6 times faster than a USB 2.0 port.

And if a hard drive is important to you, the Netgear Digital Entertainer Elite (EAV9150) represents an alternative option to the ASUS. It is somewhat more expensive but comes with a superior feature set and includes a removable 500GB internal hard drive and dual-band wireless N connectivity, making this wireless media player a true HD media streamer.