[Lab Bench Online]
EiED Online>> Building A Multimedia Home Control Center, Part 1
William Wong
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ED Online ID #13330 |
August 21, 2006
Home multimedia centers are popping up at stores but most are relatively closed boxes or are full blown PCs. Of course, engineers like myself love to get under the hood so this project is about building up a rather extensive multimedia home control center (see Figure 1) that is front-ended by Sharp’s Aquos LC-37D40U 37-in HDTV (see Figure 2).
This was an interesting project that sort of grew. It is so large that I have split it into four parts not including coverage of each of the products used in the project. This is the first of four parts.
• Part 1: Base System and Networking • Part 2: SageTV PVR • Part 3: Insteon Power Management • Part 4: Elk Home Management and Security
This first part takes a look at building the main system including the Sharp HDTV. In utilizes a host of wireless products so you are not tied or have wires running in front of your TV. They system supports S-video output so it can be easily used with existing televisions instead of the new HDTVs.
One of the main features of the system is the PVR (personal video recorder) support. This is part of the package that ATI provides but, like similar packages from vendors like Hauppauge, the software is designed for use with a PC. While the system is a PC, its interface needs to a little more flexible and the resolution is not up to conventional PC LCD standards. As such, the second part of the project examines SageTV.
Sage TV is a sophisticated TV management system that supports remote PCs and devices such as Hauppauge’s MVP. This article will examine how the SageTV support is integrated with the system including with an MVP so you can start recording a TV program from any device and watch it later on the same remote device, not just main TV.
The home management aspect of the system is divided into two articles as well. The first examines different Insteon-based software solutions. The second takes a look at a more conventional wired solution from Elk. The latter addresses aspects of home security and HVAC support. Although wireless is the watchword for much of this series, wired has its place. For example, the fire alarms used with the Elk system are commercial grade, wired solutions with power being supplied from a central, battery backed up box mounted in the basement.
As you might guess, this project has been brewing for quite awhile but I have finally made it through most of the products at this point. There are a few wired devices for the Elk system that I have not finished deploying yet because it takes awhile to run the wires in the attic.
I'll bet that the device in Fig. 1 that is labeled C-O-2 detector is a Carbon monoxide(CO) detector, unless this system really has been brewing for some time.
Bill Mays -September 14, 2006 (Article Rating: )
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