Music is the key to life,

So why do we insult our ears with poor audio...


The advent of digital audio technology has seen an explosion in the way we buy, store and listen to music today. Although in many ways this has been a good thing, but are we sacrificing quality for convenience. 
 
Ok the first generation of digital was awful because of the restrictions of the technology and the cost of doing it properly. With the first two constraints add the narrow bandwidth of the internet at the time and the MP3 was born. Now we have ended up with people that have been deprived the experience of quality sound.

Good quality sound is clean, transparent, spectrally (tonally) balanced, free of distortion and has sufficient resolution (quantity of clean information) to produce a stereo sound stage of depth and dimension.
To put some perspective on the MP3 format. Even a CD wav file at 16 bit 44.1 KHz is not enough information for true audio and an MP3 is only 10% of that! 24 bit 96 KHz is more like it and that could exceed analogue in transmission of detail and information. 

An MP3 image

CD WAV file

 








When listening to an MP3 version of a CD wav file there is missing bass and also the notes are shortened so the tails are missing which altogether makes it sound weak. The high frequencies on the other hand are the opposite of translucent and crystalline, full of fuzziness and crunchy to the ear.
This loss of space and dimension is depriving listener of involvement, feeling and spiritual motivation.




Even though we now have the technology to easily exceed 25 year old analogue technology we don’t, vinyl is still the most human!
  
A high quality stereo audio generates a 3 dimensional left, centre, right sound stage. This is so the listener is submerged in an all encompassing sound field.

Ok what´s the answer then? We all have huge collections of MP3 music that we are not about to give up, me included. So for better or worse the MP3 is here, for the time being anyway.

So your music is stored on a hard disk in MP3 format and you want to get the most out of this in your audio set up. Well adding decent cables (wireless streaming is like trying to clean your windows with dirty water!), digital to analogue converters, amplifiers and speakers will help.

I myself have the above for my multiroom audio system, but I also have a special place where I go to “hear” music. With an old skool amp made by a Hi-Fi manufacture, a classic Technics 1210 turntable, CD player and a small but high quality bookshelf speakers. I also have a pair decent headphone for when you need to tap the volume up that little bit more...

Future of Home Entertainment part 2

Following on from our media player basics here is part 2. 

In this post we will cover what you will need to start unleashing your media from your PC. If you already have an internet connection and a computer then you´re half way there, why not contact Future Lifestyle to help you get the most out of the internet and your stored media.

The great thing about this form of entertainment is that it can be retro fitted into your home using wireless routers and extenders. However if you are about to build a new house or undertake some renovation work on your home, a little forward thinking about your home network will ensure you will get the best out of next generation of home entertainment. 

Here is what you’ll need:

  

Digital media files. You´ll need content—photos, and/or music and movies.  

Content can come from any number of sources: 

• Download photos and movies from your digital camera or digital camcorder. 
• Download photos from friends and family from photo sharing websites like Picasa or from emailed photos.
• Copy music CDs, or use a device to record from vinyl record albums or cassette tapes.
• Download movies from the Internet, or digital versions of movies included on DVD/Blu-ray Discs. Note: digital versions of movies may be copyright-protected and may not be compatible with many network media players.

Storage. The content must be stored on your computer(s) or a networked attached storage (NAS). When deciding where to store your files, consider:

• The benefit of a media server or a NAS is that you don’t have to leave your computer turned on in order to access your files.

• If you store your files on your computer, you will also need to turn on media streaming or acquire special software:  

A router that connects to the computers you want to include on your network. A router is a device that creates a path for all of your computers and network devices to talk to one another. The connections can be wired, wireless or both. 

Most internet providers will supply you with a modem / router combination, however these standard routers are not always the best for coverage or handing large amounts of data transfer. So spending a little on a good router is always advisable, you wouldn´t build your new home on an unstable foundation would you? 

Connection to the router, either wireless or wired. Connect your computers and devices to the router either with Ethernet cables or wirelessly.  Most laptops come with a built-in wireless card. For desktops and NAS devices, you will probably need to connect by means of cables.  

If you connect devices or computers wirelessly to see each other and communicate, they all must be on the network of the same name.  The available networks will appear in a list of selections, both on computers and when setting up a wireless connection on a network media player. Make sure you have the correct network name and any passwords when setting up the connection.

Forego Configuration Hassles by Using a Wired Connection

The easier and more reliable way to connect is to use an Ethernet cable to connect your device or network media player to the router.  If you have a newer home with whole-home in-wall Ethernet wiring, you will simply connect your Ethernet cable to your device or computer and then plug the other end into the wall outlet.

However, if you don’t have built-in Ethernet cabling in your home, it is doubtful that you would want to add cables running from room to room.  Instead, consider a powerline Ethernet adaptor. By connecting a powerline adaptor to any wall electrical outlet, it sends data over your home’s electrical wiring as if it were Ethernet cables.

Once you have set up your network, connect your media player to your TV and loaded your content you are ready to start enjoying what we believe is the way we will all watch TV in the future. There will be no more need for huge satellite dishes on your roof or the picture breaking up due to bad weather, the power of the internet and world wide entertainment will be at your fingertips.

To find out more about unleashing the power of the entertainment on your PC or the internet contact the Future Lifestyle team on +34 902 107 227 or email them at info@futurelifestyle.es.

Future of Home Entertainment

So here is the problem... you’ve got all these cool movies, photos & music stored on your computer but you don´t want to sit at your desk or with your laptop to enjoy them.... it is a little like still being at work..... so what do you do???

It´s time to set your digital media files free and enjoyed on your TV and quality music system. 

 

So what do you need??? A network media player that retrieves the media from your computer or other network devices thet plays your movies, music and photos on your home theatre.

We have mentioned on here before about AppleTV and the new Google TV, but it struck me that not everyone knows these products or what exactly they do......So today we´re going back to basics.........

Here are a few terms that you may be familiar with, but as we are doing the basics we may as well cover everything.....

Network: - You (or your internet provider) probably set up a “home network ” to enable all of the computers in your home to share one internet connection.  That same network makes it possible to share files and media that are stored on one connected computer, viewing them on other computers, your TV or even your smart phone.

Media: – This is the term commonly used to refer to movies, videos, TV shows, photos and music files.  Certain network media players may play only one type of media.  When choosing a network media player, you will want to make sure that it can play the types of files you have stored on your computers.

Player – While the definition of a “player” may be obvious to you, it is an important distinction for this kind of device.  The first function of a player is to connect to your computers or other devices and to play the media it finds. You can then watch what it is playing on your TV screen and/or listen on your home-theatre audio/video receiver. 

Many network media players not only have internal hard drives for saving media (1Tb is not uncommon) but also can stream movies, music and photos from the internet.  You no longer need to browse the web on your computer to enjoy videos from popular websites like YouTube or Netflix; to hear music from Pandora, last.fm or Rhapsody; or to see photos from Picasa and Flickr. 

A number of manufacturers make network media players—Roku box, Seagate, Western Digital, D-Link’s Boxee Box, Popcorn Hour—that are stand-alone devices. Their sole function is to stream music, movies and photos from other sources to be played on your TV and audio/video receiver and speakers.  

These set-top boxes connect to your home network, either wirelessly or by using an Ethernet cable.  They are often small, about the size of a thick paperback novel.

A network media player makes it pretty easy to share your media on your home theatre. Whether you choose a dedicated-network media-player device, or a TV or home-theatre component to enjoy your media, be sure you have what you need to set up your home network and network media player.  

But you need more than just a network media player to make it work, click here to check out part 2 in our the Future of Home Entertainment.....

Internet TV is coming

Speaking at the pre-IFA press conference in Berlin, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer announced the world's first true TV/internet combination, designed in cooperation with Google. He also emphasised Sony's progress with 3D in TVs, BD players and projectors.

Details are a bit sketchy, but Stringer called this 'an important strategic alliance to bring the first true internet TV to the market', and emphasised that the un-named product would allow full Internet browsing and TV viewing at the same time.

Using the Android operating system and Intel processing, the TV would need some form of internal storage to operate with web browsers, though the form this would take, whether HDD or solid-state memory, is not yet clear.

The set is due for launch as soon as Christmas in the US, with a UK availability date should be released soon.

Sony spokesmen could only say that the TV would 'not incorporate any groundbreaking screen technology', and that Google's search expertise would be used to make sure that internet searches would yield results appropriate to the TV platform - so for instance a search for 'Mad men' would show sites about the TV series, rather than just any sites associated with the key words.

The development of the 'Google TV' will apparently not affect Sony's commitment to the Bravia Internet platform which offers access to selected services from a range of content providers.

For more infromation or to keep up to date with all the latest home entertainment trends join the Future Lifestyle mailing list at www.futurelifestyle.es

Network your HDTV

Network your multimedia with your TV

Share and control home digital entertainment through your DLNA certified TV's by Sony and Samsung, the leaders in the development of the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), a group of companies working to create a common, open standard for connecting devices. DLNA compatibility means you can get your to ‘talk’ to your phone, laptop or music player so you can sit back and enjoy songs, movies and photos on a big screen no matter where in the house devices are located.

Connect your TV to your router -

Connect your DLNA certified TV to your router using an Ethernet cable. If you don't have a router close to your TV, you can easily create a cable-free network in your home using the mains electricity power circuit (see www.devolo.com for more information).

Add DLNA compatible devices to your network -

Connect DLNA devices to your network using cables or WiFi (many devices have this built-in). If you have created a power line network, you can plug in devices into sockets in different rooms using a special adapter. DLNA devices include PCs and laptops, mobile phones, music players, consoles such as the PLAYSTATION®3, printers and HiFi systems.

Play and share files using your TV menu -

Use the menu on your TV to access and play content from DLNA devices on your network. Enjoy music from your GigaJuke, films from your laptop or PC as well as view photo collections from your phone in HD detail and incredible audio – all remotely controlled from you living room.