Denon’s new Blu-ray Media 2TB Server? Alas, no, just one (very imaginative) artists concept rendering of what the future may bring. Are you listening Denon?
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A few years from now, we may all look back and wonder how we ever got along without a media server. Today we’re trying to figure out exactly what a media server is, but one thing seems certain: It’s the next big thing.
There’s no hard and fast definition, at least today, of what media servers do. They come in different flavors. For years, companies catering to the custom installation market, including Escient, Crestron, AMX, Audio Design Associates, ReQuest, iMuse and others, have offered their versions of music servers: hard-disk recorders that dub music from a customer’s CD collection, store it as an MP3 file and then distribute it around the house. Homeowners access the music via a keypad system, where it joins FM, satellite radio, cable music channels and, lately, the iPod as another source of music. Some of these companies have added video to the mix, and that has complicated the picture a bit.
The tricky part is trying to send encrypted content around the house over a network. Content owners want to be sure their work doesn’t end up as free media on the Internet, so they encrypt it to prevent piracy. Consumers are allowed to create MP3s from their own CDs and can send those files easily to any room. Creating an encrypted video file from a DVD or premium TV show is a shadier area, and manufacturers have different approaches and philosophies for how to do it.
The Kaleidescape server, at the high end of the market, makes exact copies of DVDs and stores them on the hard drive, which can handle up to 440 standard-definition DVDs. Consumers buy the DVDs, which Kaleidescape stores on the server, but they don’t have to contend with the discs themselves. You can start a movie in the home theater and finish in the bedroom without having to take a disc with you. Kaleidescape systems start at more than $12,000, including the server, DVD reader and a player, and are typically managed by a high-end control system like those from Crestron, AMX, Elan and others.
But Kaleidescape’s road has been rocky. The company was sued by the DVD Copy Control Association, and although the suit was tossed out of court last year in California, other companies remain wary about facing the same legal issues.
At the other end of the spectrum is Microsoft, which is targeting the broader market with its media server, the Media Center PC. Media Center PCs make music, video and pictures available to TVs throughout the house via Media Center extenders. Early-generation Media Centers could only record standard-definition cable TV—or high definition from over-the-air broadcasts—which limited their appeal. Today’s advanced Media Center PCs come with digital CableCards, enabling consumers to receive HD cable signals the same way they would with an HDTV.
Media Center extenders take various forms. The Xbox 360 (at press time, $349 for the 20-GB version with HDMI) is an extender, allowing users to hit a button on the Xbox remote to access music, video and pictures stored on a Media Center PC and show them on a TV elsewhere in the house. HP’s Media Smart TVs—another version of an extender—pack networking technology and software that let you access content stored on your Media Center PC. Media Smart TVs ring in at $1,999 for the 42-inch LCD and $2,499 for the 47-inch LCD model. Even the Pioneer Elite BDP-94HD Blu-ray Disc Player includes Pioneer’s Home Media Gallery feature, which allows you to access digital media files stored on a PC over your existing home network. You can view photos, music and movies on TV and assign a music file to be the soundtrack for a photo slide show.
Expect to see extenders appear in many forms over the coming years. Linksys and D-Link recently introduced extenders as set-top boxes with and without built-in DVD players (prices not yet available). Niveus Media has also introduced a higher-end, rack-component media center extender (price also unavailable).
You can credit Apple for a big part of the popularity of media servers. As soon as consumers had a serious investment in downloaded music and video files, they wanted a way to enjoy them around the house. Apple’s solution is the Apple TV, which stores music, videos and photos to play back on TV. Apple TV receivers, $299 for the 40-GB version and $399 for the 160-GB model, connect to a wired or wireless home network via a simple setup process.
As a systems integrator I can tell you that the manufacturers do not make products to solve complex scenarios that often occur in homes. This is why most custom installers install systems that do not completely meet the needs of their clients. I look for products that have interfaces that allow us to customize them or extend them to get more features than even the manufacturers thought were possible. This kind of customization is not for most consumers but as an integrator I can apply the development time investment to several homes. Having a good systems integrator create a system for you will completely change your paradigms toward what is possible and how much it costs. Some manufacturers will pull our dealer agreement if we allow the homeowner to access the configuration software!
This is the biggest load of double-talk I have ever read. The managements of these companies should be fired and sued by their shareholders, if any. They would rather make people feel stupid than sell their products. We are all electrical engineers working right at the cutting edge of home electronics, right? Well, NOT right. There, I said it. I’m stupid. Or rather, I graduated from Stanford at 21 and know BS when I read it. When they climb down off their self-constructed pedastals of double-talk and decide to make money by stating in English exactly what their products can do, exactly how they do it, and exactly how a consumer sets it up, I may buy some of this stuff. Until then, go bankrupt, you morons.
A more informative article than many on EH. Thanks. Still, it leaves me scratching my head as to how to set things up as I would like (as are many others, judging by the comments). I’d like to do away with the pile of boxes under my screen—maybe centralize them in a rack in the basement or a storage closet—and control all the functions from the TV. Just need a DVD/CD player and any plugs or docks for external media located nearby. Controlled from one remote using on-screen menus. Sounds like a server or Media Center, but I have yet to see an article describing how to implement this solution. I’m tired of looking at the pile of junk and having to explain how use all the different devices and remotes to get what they want. This article helps me understand some of the issues getting in the way. Let me know when you’ve figured it out!
I will echo Nick’s comments on the ReadyNAS. I have the 2TB version(1.5TB available configured as x-raid). It’s a great box and I’ve just started putting my music on it and using Sonos music players to play back through the house. It comes with the necessary software to support various things like iTunes, PnP AV, etc. Plus you can backup other data files on the same box.
I love the idea of the Mac Mini to play video content. I’m definitely going to looking into that. Thanks for the great idea Nick.
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I don’t really have a solution, but both Fox and ABC use the Move Networks… 
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I’m a tech geek, so I created my own media center system at my house, but most of my customers don’t want a personally-rigged system--it’s tacky for a millionaire to showcase to their friends an X-box or Apple TV system or media center PC.
My typical customer wants an appliance that his wife, grandma, and kids can point and click at. But, the problem is that setting up multi-zone environments is something that requires a custom integrator--someone who eats, breathes, and sleeps this stuff all day long.
Once this technology matures, it will be something consumers can handle themselves, even Stanford or Cornell graduates--but, until then, media servers are a high-end custom integrated piece that only people with high-end tastes will buy.