The digital home

BY SUNIL RANADIVE

Today home computers have become less about information processing and more about entertainment and keeping in touch. An increase in the usage of digital music and videos is driving a need for even more storage space in your home computer. And with many homes now using more than one computer, picture music and video sharing is an essential requirement. Though we’ve yet to see internet-connected refrigerators go mainstream, entertainment devices like Blu-Ray players and gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Wii, Sony Play Station 3 or Microsoft Xbox 360 now want internet access.

A cable or DSL home internet can be shared using a wired or wireless connection for these devices. A wireless connection is preferred for devices like game consoles. Many folk setting up wireless home networks rush through the job to get their internet connectivity working as quickly as possible. That’s totally understandable, but it is also quite risky as numerous security problems can result. Today’s Wi-Fi networking products don’t always help the situation as configuring their security features can be time-consuming and non-intuitive. If one is not familiar with the security settings of wireless networking, it is strongly recommended to seek professional help.

One of the basic functions that can be accomplished with internet connection on game consoles is updating the system software. These updates provide additional features and security patches. From a user’s perspective, the internet connection enables communication with friends, downloading games and videos. However, the main reason a youngster would want internet access on a game console is for online multiplayer gaming. The online game experience certainly takes them to the next level, and they wouldn’t want a game that does not include online play.

Now does that leave out the parents? Well, surely many parents would enjoy online games as much as their children, but relaxing on the couch is definitely their preferred method for consuming video content; and while there are many different ways to get video onto a PC, users looking to sit in front of the TV instead of a keyboard have had few options to stream media until relatively recently. Fortunately, there’s been an explosion in media streaming devices, and thanks to a technology called DLNA, streaming media around the home now requires less effort.

DLNA is short for Digital Living Network Alliance, and defines a standard for moving movies, photos, music and other media from device to device. DLNA servers can store media in one location and, without any setup or configuration, can stream the media to DLNA compliant players, such as the PS3 or Xbox 360. The big draw behind DLNA is to throw away major configuration, and create a simplistic way for consumers to get media from one device to another.

More and more TV models are now DLNA complaint, they have a LAN port or support wireless connection. If you are in the market for a TV try to purchase one which has both wired and wireless connectivity. Wireless only devices are much more likely to experience problems in large homes. They may also drop connections for no apparent reason, which can cause replay or stop the streaming altogether. Equipped with a DLNA compliant TV, it is now time to consolidate your digital content i.e. photos, music and videos. An easy way to do this is to use a DLNA compliant Networked Attached Storage (NAS). A NAS can be accessed anytime without having to turn on your PC. When you create your Digital Media Library make it DLNA compliant too, JPEG (photos), LPCM (audio) and MPEG2 (video). Although they are optional for home devices, MP3 (audio), WMV (video) and MPEG4 (video) are almost always supported by DLNA-certified devices as well. It is extremely important to perform regular backups of all of your media or make sure it’s stored on two different hard disks.

You are now ready to share your photos with your friends on a large TV screen in your living room instead of holing up in the study in front of a little PC monitor while the kids enjoy their online games.

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