Daniel Weston
AVForums Super Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2008
- Messages
- 1,776
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Hi guys
Now that we have settled into our new home, I want to venture into the great unknown of setting up a home PC, some sort of internet connection and then find out what options I have for both loading up and then streaming music. Please bear with me as at the tender age of 39, I have only ever had a laptop at home with a frustrating (to say the least!) Vodacom 3G modem. I know there are a lot of clever IT minded chaps on this forum so really hoping the answers on this post could get me on the right and most affordable/efficient track!
So what do I want a PC for?
1. General home use, browsing the net, working on the various Office packages, downloading pics from our camera but most importantly, I would like to transfer all of my music across to the PC for streaming purposes. I don't do much gaming at all and prefer my PS3 for this. I've got about 600 cds and because I don't have high end gear, I would probably transfer the music in MP3 format.
So what PC would suit my needs? I presume I need to find something with a large hard drive? I have no idea what large is in terms of PC hard drive so would look for some guidance on this please.
2. Internet. I would like to get an ADSL line to give me a minimum of 1-2 gig per month. Who is the best SP to go with and why? I presume that I need a Telkom style landline for this?
3. Streaming of music. So how does this work? What is the easiest way to do this? Am I right in understanding that I could stream the music from my PC to play via my HT system by using something like a Squeezebox? Is it really as easy as this? What are the requirements for this to work in terms of the system you want to stream to? Would I be able to stream to a NAD integrated amp? Does the Squeezebox need to plug into the device you want to stream to? When you stream music wireless does this eat into your available bandwidth or is this 'free' so to speak?
Hope someone can help to drag me into the 21st Century!
Now that we have settled into our new home, I want to venture into the great unknown of setting up a home PC, some sort of internet connection and then find out what options I have for both loading up and then streaming music. Please bear with me as at the tender age of 39, I have only ever had a laptop at home with a frustrating (to say the least!) Vodacom 3G modem. I know there are a lot of clever IT minded chaps on this forum so really hoping the answers on this post could get me on the right and most affordable/efficient track!
So what do I want a PC for?
1. General home use, browsing the net, working on the various Office packages, downloading pics from our camera but most importantly, I would like to transfer all of my music across to the PC for streaming purposes. I don't do much gaming at all and prefer my PS3 for this. I've got about 600 cds and because I don't have high end gear, I would probably transfer the music in MP3 format.
So what PC would suit my needs? I presume I need to find something with a large hard drive? I have no idea what large is in terms of PC hard drive so would look for some guidance on this please.
2. Internet. I would like to get an ADSL line to give me a minimum of 1-2 gig per month. Who is the best SP to go with and why? I presume that I need a Telkom style landline for this?
3. Streaming of music. So how does this work? What is the easiest way to do this? Am I right in understanding that I could stream the music from my PC to play via my HT system by using something like a Squeezebox? Is it really as easy as this? What are the requirements for this to work in terms of the system you want to stream to? Would I be able to stream to a NAD integrated amp? Does the Squeezebox need to plug into the device you want to stream to? When you stream music wireless does this eat into your available bandwidth or is this 'free' so to speak?
Hope someone can help to drag me into the 21st Century!
