Wireless Home Networking - Index of

230
Part IV: Using a Wireless Network
adapter or player. Some media adapters or players actually use iTunes
and Windows Media Player (which you probably already have installed
on your PC), which simplifies matters greatly.
� User interface: The user interface is simply the mechanism that you use
to control your media player. For some simple media adapters (such as
Apple’s multipurpose AirPort Express — which can also be used as a
router or as a print server), the interface is back on your computer (so
you have to use the software on the computer to control the media
adapter, which isn’t convenient). Other adapters and players have a
simple remote control that lets you skip forward and back through
songs or video programs, pause, and stop and start the program.
� Display: Your media player or adapter’s display is part of its user interface,
but we’re mentioning it separately simply because not all media
adapters and players even have a display — which is inconvenient to
say the least. For media adapters and players that do have a display,
you’ll find two distinct mechanisms:
• LCD/LED screens on the device itself: Many media players or
adapters have a small text display on the device, which can display
your playlists, the title or song name currently playing, and more.
Keep in mind that you don’t want this display to be too small,
because you’re likely to be trying to read it from across the room.
• TV onscreen displays: These are typical for media players and
adapters that can handle video content. An onscreen menu (similar
to the one that your cable or satellite set-top box offers) lets
you view (and browse through) all your PC-based media on the big
screen. An onscreen display is sexy and a lot easier to use from
across the room than a smaller screen on the device itself, but an
onscreen display does require you to have your TV turned on, even
when you’re only listening to music — so you might consider a
player/adapter that offers both an onscreen display and a built-in
display.
An adapter without a screen isn’t necessarily completely inconvenient.
For example, Pat uses Apple’s AirPort Express for playing music on his
home theater system — because he always has at least one of his Apple
laptop computers in that room, he can simply open iTunes and choose
music. With Apple’s FrontRow software (included on all current Macs),
he can even use a remote control to control his music playback.
� File format support: You can use a number of file formats for storing
audio and video on a computer. Examples in the audio world include
MP3, WMA (Windows Media Audio), and AAC (used by iTunes). The
video world includes formats such as WMV (Windows Media Video),
MPEG-2, and MPEG-4. Most media adapters and players support the most
common file formats (particularly widely used standards such as MP3
and MPEG), but you should pay close attention to the formats you actually
use to make sure that your adapter or player matches up with them.