Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 3
Media Systems: Incorporating the
TV and the HiFi
The most visible part in any home environment is the media system. Ever since real fireplaces fell out of fashion, the
TV or stereo system has become the focal point of most living rooms. The TV and stereo system are also the devices
with which we spend the most time interacting. It is therefore essential that you understand the possibilities of these
devices.
As with all consumer electronics, the feature sets and prices change on a daily basis. Therefore, I'll concentrate
primarily on the necessary features and inner workings of the machines without detailing specific makes and models
because by the time you read this other machines will already be available.
The Data Chain
The simple act of “playing an album” changes significantly in the home automation field. Not only is the location of
the media itself unconstrained, but it's also the place where you can listen to it. This has been exemplified recently
with iTunes, which allows you to play music on several different computers, and with Spotify, which provides a
music-streaming service allowing access to various music tracks from your home PC or mobile.
1
If your interest
in music is casual, or chart-based, then these services are often enough. But many people have albums in their
collection that are either rare or obscure enough to not appear on any commercial-led web site. Some people might
prefer to have their music data stored on their own computers, lest the company go out of business, change the terms
of service, or lose connectivity in some other fashion. When this is the case, we need to provide a way of getting the
music from a hard disk to the human ear. This is the
data chain
.
There are four steps in this chain. The first step is the data itself. This is the directory structure of WAVs, MP3s,
or OGGs that represent the music (or other media) in your collection. This data is then read by a server (which is the
second step) before being distributed (the third step) to one or more speakers in the house. The fourth and final step
is when the human gets to hear (or see) the media. This model still applies when playing music on a portable music
player or desktop PC, although for a desktop PC all of the logical units are held within one physical box.
Extracting the Data
Often known as
ripping
, this is the process by which the media, usually stored on DVD or CD, is converted into a
computer-friendly data format, ready for playback. Many pieces of software are available, so I'll cover these with an
example only.
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