|
|
|
 |
|
|
Play Audio through your receiver
If you built a home in the last few
years there is a good chance that you had several rooms in your
house wired with speakers, or at the very least you installed
surround sound speakers in one room.
If you wanted these speakers to be more then a mesh covered hole in your wall to confuse the zombies, you most likely ran the speakers back to a central point and hooked them into a receiver. (smart move)
This is fantastic for listening to AM/FM radio, or playing a handful of CD’s at a time in your 5 disc changer. But what about all that music you digitized for your MP3 player, or the tunes you downloaded from an online store? It’s time to let your digital music run freely through your home. Your complete library, not just the lucky tracks on your MP3 player plugged into a docking station….
There are two primary ways to get
this going
To know which is best for you, you should ask yourself 2 questions. 1) Do I have a PC I can plug into the receiver? 2) Am I allowed to put a computer by the receiver? I would check with the other members of the household on this one.
If you answered YES to the two questions above, I recommend you hook a PC directly to your receiver. This will give you the greatest flexibility in player selection, and more options as new technologies emerge. Not to mention your receiver is probably right by your TV, so adding one more cord will allow you to expand your system to support video.
If You answered NO to either of the above questions, then you can skip to the section below: Using a Music Bridge
Hooking Up a PC: Parts List Computer Receiver Mini Plug to RCA adapter cable OR **You may also use an optical audio cable if both your PC and receiver have this available.
The most basic audio hook-up on your PC will be a mini-plug. This is the same port on the back of your computer that you would plug PC speakers into directly. On most modern PC’s this port will be colored green.
To connect your PC to your receiver:
Attach the mini plug end to the PC
line out (green port) Attach the RCA end to an available set of left and right audio-in jacks on your receiver or stereo
After selecting the desired input on your receiver, you should now be able to hear whatever audio is coming out of your PC on the speakers attached to your receiver.
If you are not hearing any audio check the following: Is there any audio playing on the PC? Is the PC volume turned up? Are your cords firmly plugged in?
Do you have the correct input
selected on your receiver?
Optical audio: If you have a digital audio port on both your PC and receiver you can hook the two together directly using one optical cable.
Tip: If a TV is going to be the only monitor for this computer, you should invest in a wireless mouse and keyboard.
If you are not lucky enough to have a PC near your receiver, you can still transmit your audio wirelessly. A quick search of the internet will turn up several choices for sending audio wirelessly from one place to another. Many of these devices will broadcast using standard RF frequencies for cordless phones, such as 2.4Ghz and 5.3Ghz. Other devices will utilize your existing wired or wireless network for sending the audio.
My personal favorite is the Apple Airport Express. This little guy is about the size of a deck of cards, and can be hooked up either wired or wirelessly.
After you have followed the manufacturer’s instructions for linking your music bridge to your computer, hooking a bridge to your receiver is just like hooking up your PC. You will most likely have either a mini-plug or digital audio jack on your bridge that works just like the lineout jack on your computer.
|
|
 |
|
|
Harmony Solutions LLC. Copyright 2009 |
|
