http://www.househacker.com/ househacker/tags/audio Avega Systems are developing WiFi speakers that connect to your wireless home network. The speakers, called "Oysters", play digital audio streamed directly from your computer. Listeners can control, browse and select media from their PC through the Oyster's graphical remote control. The speakers will also accept input from a CD/DVD source and wirelessly distribute the audio to the other speakers in the room. The Oysters also will accept iPods or other MP3 players, via USB port, which will, again, trigger the connected speaker to distribute the audio via WiFi.

The speakers feature wireless connectivity (801.11 a/b/g), support for DTS, 5.1 surround as well as MP3, OGG, WMA, AAC and FLAC digital audio formats.

The unit also has 2 S/PDIF optical connectors and USB port for wired connections.

CNET feature on the Oysters with video.
Company FAQ and spec sheet (Both PDFs)]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Avega-Oyster-WiFi-Speakers home theatre. Topics covered include cabling choices, speaker positioning, video tuning, connection types and a ton more. Here's a television tip, from the article:

Try this simple visual test to determine if you have your video image too bright or contrasty. Look at any white area on the screen during scenes from live TV or a movie. It could be the white shirt or blouse on an actor or TV host. Are you able to see detail within the white areas? If you can't, then you are likely running the brightness too high, which washes out fine detail in bright areas. So lower the brightness and/or contrast. There's a reason why control rooms for TV productions and telecasts are always dimly lit: it's because video images on the monitors look best in a dim or darker room and the greatest range of colors and tones can be displayed.

Alan's website is also packed full of home theatre information and worth checking out. ]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Detailed-Article-on-Setting-up-your-First-Home-Theatre home theatre system. The author, Norman Varney, says that a high end audio system can be wasted in an acoustically poor environment and that a decent system can sound great under the right acoustic conditions.

From the article:

Don't believe it? While working at the Science and Technology Center for Owens Corning, we built two identical rooms of average home theater size. Both included the same equipment, set-up and furnishings. One room had acoustic treatment in it and the other did not. I ran bio-feedback tests with a couple of dozen engineers playing the same 'Das Boot' clip for them in both rooms. We found that when subjects were in the room that was acoustically treated, their heart rate and blood pressure increased. Acoustics controlled their emotions. They did not understand why it was happening, or even care, but they all wanted it at home. A similar thing happened when I gave a little acoustic seminar for about a dozen teenage boys. In the untreated room they behaved like teenage boys, but in the acoustically treated room, it was like flipping a switch; they were totally focused on the movie, motionless, involved. So you see, it's real, and it's for everyone to enjoy. It's not just for audiophile geeks like me with golden ears.

Now don't get too carried away with improving your home audio experience or you'll soon find yourself dropping nearly $500 on volume knobs and the like.

Article: Room Acoustics Number One Component]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Interesting-Article-on-Home-Theatre-Room-Acoustics ready made wireless music player, you can build your own out of some off the shelf (the shelf being ebay, usually) parts and some shell scripts, as Nathan True did. Luckily for us, Nathan has provided a nice step-by-step walk through of the process. If you're not afraid of some hardware work and elastic bands(!), then give it a go and help bring some harmony back to your home audio world.

via Engadget]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/DIY-Wireless-Music-Player

]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Incredibly-Thorough-Structured-Wiring-HowTo http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Cordless-Cube-MP3-Player-Speakerphone-Combo
You can listen to your own library streamed from home, live concerts, and other great music from around the web.

This app manages to marry internet buzz like AJAX, del.icio.us and Google/Amazon API stuff to Flash for a damn cool app. Streampad is still in beta.]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Streampad-Home-Audio-Server