Long L. Home Networking Demystified
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An alternative to the Media Center PC is the Digital Entertainment Center (see
Figure 13-7). The Digital Entertainment Center is essentially a Media Center PC
that is packaged to fi t within an existing entertainment system (amplifi er/tuner,
DVD player, VCR, Xbox, and so on). The system’s monitor is the connected TV or
home theater screen.
CAUT IO N CAUTION Not all Media Center PCs do it all. Some low-end Media Center PCs
(around the $1000 price tag) may not have a TV tuner. If you want TV and DVR
capabilities, you will need the TV tuner.
The Media Center Extender
The Media Center Extender (see Figure 13-8) is the media hub for Media Center
PCs. The network device lets you take advantage of your home network’s
connectivity to extend the Media Center PC experience to televisions throughout
the house or to a home theater. It lets you enjoy digital entertainment where, when,
and how you want it. You don’t have to have a PC in the living room to enjoy access
to a plethora of media resources.
NOTE NOTE The link between the Media Center PC and the Media Center Extender must
be fast enough to handle video and recorded TV. This is true for all media hubs.
Wireless-G at 54 Mbps and Fast Ethernet at 100 Mbps are fi ne. Wireless-B and
basic Ethernet will work for pictures and music, but they don’t have enough capacity
for video or TV. For example, 22 Mbps is needed to transmit the signal stream for
high defi nition television (HDTV). If a wireless network device has Microsoft’s
Windows XP Media Center Edition Logo Certifi cation, you can be confi dent that
it will handle TV and other transmissions that require high-speed links.
Figure 13-7 A Digital Entertainment Center
Courtesy of Hewlett-Packard
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The Media Center Extender works like any media hub, except it works only with
Media Center PCs. Connect it to your audio/visual equipment using standard A/V
cables. Use the remote control to interact with the unit via the onscreen menu to
play any multimedia fi les stored on the Media Center PC, including pictures, music,
videos, and recorded TV programs. Someone on the Media Center PC can browse
through the family music library while the rest of the family watches a movie using
the Media Center Extender.
NOTE NOTE If you already have an Xbox console in your home theater and you were
planning on purchasing a Media Center Extender, please wait. You can save a
bunch of money by purchasing a Media Center Extender for Xbox, a packaged
software product that runs as a game on an Xbox. The software, which is sold
with a remote control, gives the Xbox full Media Center Extender functionality.
Digital Entertainment Around the Home
Ideally, people want to choose how and where they are able to enjoy the various
forms of digital entertainment. And, they want the experience to be readily accessible
and simple to achieve. The Media Center PC and its operating system coupled with
a home network give you TiVo-like capabilities and all of the features of any media
hub. With one or more Media Center PCs on a LAN, you have the power to reinvent
home entertainment.
My Music
The My Music feature of Windows XP MCE gives you the ability to organize songs
into an easily accessible music library that can be played on your stereo system,
Figure 13-8 Media Center Extender used with a Media Center PC on a home network
Courtesy of Linksys
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CHAPTER 13 Growing the Network: Entertainment and Beyond
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your home theater, portable wireless devices (a PDA or a notebook PC), and even
your car MP3 player. Use the remote control to play a music CD or copy its content
to your music library. You can also download digital music, create customized
playlists (see Figure 13-9), and, of course, play songs on your audio systems. You
can also edit music album details.
My Music picks up live FM or Internet radio, too. Use Media Center to tune into
local FM radio stations, or you can fi nd just about whatever you want on Internet
radio stations from around the world—talk shows, comedy, rock, classical,
alternative jazz, and much more. If you wish, you can pause, rewind, and fast
forward through FM broadcasts (the last of these assumes you have paused or
rewound a transmission).
My Pictures
Digital cameras have created a new era in photography. The crisp, vibrant pictures
that result are essentially free and can be viewed on any type of electronic display.
Moreover, they are instantly available for viewing—no developing or printing
required. Our family’s photography habits changed dramatically when we purchased
our fi rst digital camera. They changed again when we integrated our home theater
into the home network. Now, we routinely take a couple dozen photos at events—a
tennis match, an awards ceremony, a party, or whatever. Then, we upload them to
the media server PC and relive the event on the big screen in the home theater, often
on the same day.
Figure 13-9 My Music: My Playlist
Courtesy of Microsoft
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Windows XP MCE’s My Picture feature gives you the capability to organize and
view images stored on your Media Center PC on your TV or home theater (see
Figure 13-10). If you have a wireless home network, the pictures are also available
for viewing on portable devices, such as PDAs and notebook PCs.
My Videos
The My Videos feature is the Windows XP MCE response to the growing legion of
families who now own and use digital video cameras. Digital videos are easily
uploaded to a PC’s hard disk. My Video lets you recall and play videos stored on
hard disk or DVD on your PC or home theater. If your home network has a wireless
access point, video can be played on portable wireless devices, such as notebook
PCs and PDAs. This feature can also be used to view a live video feed from a home
webcam or security camera. The My Videos interface is shown in Figure 13-11. Use
My Videos to play downloaded HD (high defi nition) videos and enjoy amazingly
clear resolutions.
My TV
The integration of TV into personal computing and home networking is the last step
and, possibly, the most important step in spreading digital entertainment throughout
the home. Already, people in 5 percent of the 120 million homes in America watch
TV on their PCs.
It’s not unusual for each member of a family of four to watch 25 or more hours
of TV each week, or 100 collective hours of TV. Are they watching what they want,
Figure 13-10 My Pictures: menu and an image being displayed while a song is playing
Courtesy of Microsoft
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when they want, and where they want? Probably not. My TV can give each family
member the fl exibility to watch TV exactly the way he or she wants it. The My TV
feature has the potential to have a tremendous impact on how we spend our home
entertainment hours, and the people at Microsoft (and other companies) are keenly
aware of this. The General Manager of Microsoft’s Windows eHome Division, Joe
Belfi ore, said that “As far as we’re concerned, TV watching is the new mission
critical application for Windows.”
My TV gives the Media Center PC TiVo-like capabilities (see the earlier
discussion on TiVo). Essentially, your PC becomes a DVR that can record TV
programs on your command. Some people use the term personal video recorder
(PVR) to refer to a PC with DVR capabilities. One big difference between TiVo and
My TV is that, with My TV, you don’t have to pay for a subscription service. The
onscreen program guide (see Figure 13-12) is made available to Windows MCE
users at no charge. Watch, pause, replay, or record live TV. It’s relatively easy to set
My TV to record a program for an entire season. You can even set My TV to record
movies that include your favorite actors. Watch one TV show while recording
another. If you are at the offi ce and forget to record the big game, you can do so
from any PC with Internet access. Once you’ve recorded shows, play them on any
PC on the home network, or if you have a Media Center Extender, you can play
them on any TV or the home theater.
Figure 13-11 My Videos: menu and selection screen
Courtesy of Microsoft
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Microsoft has partnered with a number of third-party services that deliver
premium digital media over the Internet via Media Center. For example, use My
Music to play music from Napster. My TV handles video-on-demand services such
as MovieLink and Cinemanow. As Media Center PC gains momentum, expect the
number and variety of third-party services to grow rapidly.
Media Center Applications
Without Windows MCE
With the trend toward digital convergence in music, photography, video, and television,
PCs have emerged as warehouses for digital media. In 2004, about one million homes
have some level of integration between digital entertainment and personal computers/
home networks. By 2010, analysts are projecting this number will be between 20 and
30 million. Microsoft and other companies recognize this trend and have made e-
home entertainment a priority. Now, several companies are developing hardware and
software that can turn any PC into an entertainment device and a home network into
a vehicle for distributing entertainment throughout the home.
If you’re not ready to spring for a new Media Center PC, but you want its neat
digital entertainment applications on your home network, you now have several
Figure 13-12 My TV: onscreen program guide
Courtesy of Microsoft
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very workable alternatives. SnapStream Media, Pinnacle Systems, and ATI offer
integrated home entertainment solutions with features that are similar to those of
Windows MCE and the Media Center Extender. Any one of these companies offers
a family of products that can leverage the entertainment value of your PCs and
home network (see Figure 13-13). For a few hundred dollars, you can have live or
recorded television throughout your home and a music jukebox wherever you have
audio equipment. Your home videos and photos can be accessed from any PC and
the home theater. The solutions also rely on an Internet-based TV programming
guide and can interface with third-party movie and music services.
There are several major differences between the Windows MCE/Media Center
PC e-home solution and non-Microsoft solutions. The most important difference is
that the latter do not require a Media Center PC, which includes all the necessary
software (Windows MCE) and the required hardware. To implement a Pinnacle
Systems or SnapStream Media solution, you will probably need to install a quality
TV tuner, either an external USB 2.0 device or a PCI card, which includes a remote
control. You may need to upgrade your video card as well, to meet the software’s
minimum hardware requirements. Because the Media Center Extender works only
with Window MCE, you will need to purchase a compatible media hub, sometimes
called a remote media player, if you wish to extend the media resources on your PC
to rooms without PCs. The media player is connected to the home network via a
wired or wireless line.
The winds of home digital entertainment are continually shifting, but you can bet
that, in time, Microsoft will emerge as a major player in the software that drives this
killer app. Only the fi ckle IT gods know whether Microsoft, TiVo, SnapStream,
Pinnacle Systems, ATI, or some other company will survive the scrutiny of the
digital entertainment marketplace.
Figure 13-13 SnapStream Media’s Beyond TV 3: Onscreen programming guide and live
TV in-home theater
Courtesy of SnapStream
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Gaming and the Home Network
It’s not unusual to see more retail shelf space devoted to gaming software for PCs
and game controllers, such as Xbox, GameCube, or Playstation 2, than to all other
software combined. Gaming is not just a hobby or activity to gaming enthusiasts, it
is an experience. That’s why online gaming has emerged as one of the fastest-
growing applications for home networking. No longer is the game limited to how
many controllers can be attached to a PC or game console or to the size of the
display. Now, gamers can play against others in the house over the home network
or can play against netizens (citizens of the Internet) from around the globe.
What You Need for Internet Gaming
What you need to enjoy Internet gaming depends on whether you are doing PC-
based gaming or using a game console, such as Xbox. For PC-based gaming, you
need the software for a multiplayer game, such as Warcraft, and broadband Internet
access. If you have a home network, you and your friends can play the game locally,
with each person setting up play at one of the PCs on the LAN.
NOTE NOTE Realistically, the lag time resulting from slow dial-up access puts the
player at too great a disadvantage to be competitive, so virtually all online play is
at broadband speeds. Lag is not good when you’re trying to block an opponent’s
blow to your character’s head with a sword.
Let’s use Xbox Live, the most popular online gaming console, as an example to
discuss what you need for console-base multiplayer gaming. To enjoy Xbox gaming
with gamers in cyberspace, you need the following:
• The Xbox video game system The game console, which can double as
a DVD player, is relatively inexpensive for what you get (the expense of
online gaming is in the cost of the games).
• Broadband Internet access Split-second timing is critical during online
gaming, so Broadband service is a requirement to play Xbox games.
• Ethernet link to the Internet The Xbox has a built-in Ethernet adapter
that enables a link to a home network. Many gamers just plug their
Xbox directly into an extra Ethernet port on the home gateway/router.
Others connect it to an available port on an Ethernet switch. The wireless
connection is made possible by a wireless game adapter, which is just an
Ethernet bridge by another name (see Figure 13-14).
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• A multiplayer online game Games such as Halo and Halo 2 are
designed for multiplayer gaming over the Internet.
• A subscription to the gaming service Gamers purchase an annual
subscription to Xbox Live, which lets them log on to the Xbox Live hosting
service. There, gamers can fi nd tens of thousands of people playing any of
over 100 multiplayer games—all day, every day.
Playing the Game
Nearly all video games have a single-player feature. This is where you play against
or with the computer. The trend in gaming, however, is to have multiplayer games
where the gamer plays with or against other players. Players can have multiple
controllers on a PC or a game console, but increasingly, gamers are playing online
with people on a home network or people in cyberspace (see Figure 13-15). You can
play games with netizens you’ve never met before, or you can limit the game to
your friends, who may be playing at their homes. Sometimes, gamers have “LAN
parties,” where players bring their PCs (or game consoles) to one location so that
they can enjoy higher connection speeds and personal camaraderie.
Many multiplayer gamers choose to game from their own home over the Internet.
In Internet games, you can join a game, host a game, or just play on your own with
the information on the Internet. There are scores of games, and each one offers a
variety of gaming options. Many offer voice communication. Players wear headsets
so that the entire team can communicate verbally while attempting to complete the
mission. Voice communication during gaming is becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Figure 13-14 An Xbox game console is linked to the home network via a wireless
Ethernet bridge (middle top)
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For example, some games enable proximity communication that limits the conversation
to those gamers in the same area of gaming cyberspace. Most of the real-time talk
involves strategizing, but the successful combatant will often engage in a little trash
talking, too.
VoIP: Internet Telephone
Voice over IP (VoIP) refers to the ability to make telephone calls over the Internet.
Yes, we can make Internet-based local and international calls using the same
telephones that we have used for decades. And yes, VoIP offers the same features as
traditional phones, such as caller ID, call waiting, and voice mail. Plus, VoIP’s
Internet connection gives us a host of new features, such as Locate Me (call other
locations), Personal Conferencing (with up to nine other people), and Do Not
Disturb. With most major providers of conventional telephone services, such as
AT&T and SBC, offering or planning to offer VoIP services, it’s apparent that the
Voice over IP bandwagon is beginning to roll.
There are two primary differences between VoIP and conventional telephone
services. First, VoIP uses broadband Internet to transmit calls rather than the world-
wide telephone network. Second, VoIP service is less expensive, primarily because
the rates for long distance and international calling are considerably less than for
traditional landlines.
Figure 13-15 Halo 2 being played online via an Xbox on a home network
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