[clug] wireless audio and video

[Robert Edwards]

I think the main issue here is whether you want/need to have the same
material playing at different stations at the same time (ie. "in sync").

Analogue A/V senders solve this, but it is hard to get more than a
couple of simultaneous signals going (and to keep your neighbours out).

Otherwise, multicasting is the correct solution, but not so well
supported in the FOSS world still. More importantly, a wireless Access
Point (WAP) should be multicast aware, automatically propagating multi-
cast channels that wireless clients are actually wanting to receive,
and ceasing to propagate any channels that are no longer required. The
protocols for doing all this exist, but I am not aware of many home or
small office (ie. low-cost) WAPs that implement them.

802.11g, working optimally at 54Mbps (which it rarely does) should, in
theory, be capable of carrying several (up to about six) standard
resolution (digital-TV-quality) channels over multicast (ie. no
acknowledgements required from the receiving stations). 802.11b, again
working optimally at 11Mbps, should be able to carry one multicast
video stream and a couple of multicast 128kbps MP3 or Ogg audio
channels.

As for actual kit that will do all this - it might be a question of
roll your own as far as the WAP is concerned and low-cost receiving
stations are generally set up for uPnP, which is not-multicast aware.

But the dream is there (I have it too), so we should be able to do
something eventually to make all this work.

Cheers,

Bob Edwards.

David Tulloh wrote:
> Kim Holburn wrote:
>> I have this dream of having some kind of wireless system that will let 
>> me put at least speakers in different rooms and maybe even screens as 
>> well and route audio from one or more sources to one or more sets of 
>> speakers and possibly the same with video.
>>
>> I'd of course prefer all linux but it wold be essential to integrate 
>> at least one linux server and of course I really wouldn't want to have 
>> to run a windows server at all.
>>
>> Does anyone have any ideas about such a thing?
> 
> I've put some thought into such a thing, there are products that try to 
> meet this market but none of the product I've looked at seemed very good 
> and they are all on the hideously expensive end of the scale.  I have a 
> few ideas on building something like this but I don't have any pressing 
> need for it at the moment.
> 
> Wireless video is still not commonly not done due to bandwidth required.
> 
> Something like the AudioControl set of products let you run sound and 
> video over RJ45 cable, handy if you have that in your house already.
> http://www.wholehouseaudiocontrol.com/product.asp?Product_Id=252633
> 
> 
> David