Greetings,

I tried doing a search for my questions, but was a little overwhelmed with all the
data so I thought I would just ask my questions in this thread.

For the past couple of years I've been using the Apple AirPort Express to stream mp3s and internet radio from ITunes on my upstairs PC to my receiver in my living room about 25 feet away. My living room receiver drives my whole house audio throughout my house.

The system works okay except for the dropouts - about one per hour - and if I'm downstairs I need to go upstairs to change my playlist. I'm currently using Windows XP but will be purchasing a new PC late summer with probably Vista.

Is there a product out there for around $500 (give or take a couple of hundred
dollars) that is more reliable for streaming music and that has a remote or other device that I can be downstairs in my lower level and change internet radio stations and MP3's remotely?

Not sure how pricey they are, but would someday like to get a touchscreen panel to change the playlist, radio station, remotely if possible.



Thanks,

Jim

Greetings,

I tried doing a search for my questions, but was a little overwhelmed with all the
data so I thought I would just ask my questions in this thread.

For the past couple of years I've been using the Apple AirPort Express to stream mp3s and internet radio from ITunes on my upstairs PC to my receiver in my living room about 25 feet away. My living room receiver drives my whole house audio throughout my house.

The system works okay except for the dropouts - about one per hour - and if I'm downstairs I need to go upstairs to change my playlist. I'm currently using Windows XP but will be purchasing a new PC late summer with probably Vista.

Is there a product out there for around $500 (give or take a couple of hundred
dollars) that is more reliable for streaming music and that has a remote or other device that I can be downstairs in my lower level and change internet radio stations and MP3's remotely?

Not sure how pricey they are, but would someday like to get a touchscreen panel to change the playlist, radio station, remotely if possible.



Thanks,

Jim


There are lot of ways to deal with this. I would imagine the dropouts are most likely due to signal quality. of course there is always ethernet whcich super reliable but If I were you I would invest in a high gain antenna powered antenna for my wifi router and see if this solves your issues. Cost ~$50 and if that works you are happy man...

Sean

There are lot of ways to deal with this. I would imagine the dropouts are most likely due to signal quality. of course there is always ethernet whcich super reliable but If I were you I would invest in a high gain antenna powered antenna for my wifi router and see if this solves your issues. Cost ~$50 and if that works you are happy man...

Sean

+1. I was able to pick up an inexpensive ($15-$20) high-gain antenna at Ratshack for my Linksys wireless router and my signal strength across the house went from 2-3 bars to 4-5 bars and rates went up.

I'm not familiar with the Apple products, so this may or may not be a choice for you.

A free thing to try: experiment with the orientation of both the transmitting and receiving sides - it can make a big difference.


Bill

I use a Rio Receiver connected to my Nuvo 6 zone Whole House Audio System, actually I have three of them, that can be controlled by a webserver, so I can control everything by any computer on my network as well as IR control, including Internet Radio. Rios are out of production but can be found on ebay for $30-50, and MediaNet (software) is a free download. I LOVE my setup!!!!!!!!!!!!!