NEW! April 19th
The Java applet is now functional as well. You can use the Networked Home
Theater by clicking on the Applet button and the Listen button above. To
listen to the broadcast you need to have Winamp or Realaudio installed on
your computer. For more details on the streaming audio please visit http://www.shoutcast.com.
NEW! April 17th
The Java server is functional. This means that the entire project is in
very short grasp. I am currently able to telnet into the Java server and
control the CD Player. I have set up a
ShoutCast server to
stream the audio over the internet.
NEW! March 29
The microprocessor code has been completed. I am now able to send S-Link
information from the computer to the CD player, and vice versa. This
means that the Java client will be functional with a short amount of time!
NEW!
The Networked Home Theater Applet has been started. Check it out using
the above link. It is not yet connected to any servers though. It has no
functional use for now. When it does, I'll post about it here.
WHO?
The Networked Home Theater is a senior project designed and built by Jeff
Patrick. I am a Senior Electrical Engineer at Bradley University. My
homepage is at
http://cegt201.bradley.edu/~jpatrick. You
can reach me by e-mail at jpatrick@bobcat.bradley.edu.
WHAT?
The Networked Home Theater is a hardware and software system to connect
Sony home theater components to a PC. The components(TV, CD-Player, VCR,
etc.) will be controllable from either the PC or it can be set up as a
server, and be controlled from anywhere on the internet. If your
Networked Home Theater is set up to run over the internet, you
will have the option of running a chat server and allowing the
general public to control the commands sent to the system.
If all goes well, the CD-Player module will be able to perform CDDB
lookups. A CDDB lookup is a method of retrieving information
about the current compact disc playing in the cd-player. The
information consists of disc name, track name, and artist
information.
WHY!
The purpose of the Networked Home Theater is more of an academic learning
process. By interfacing the CD-Player to a PC and then coding both
servers and client applets, I am learning much about communications as
well as touching up my programming skills. In an ideal world, I will
market and sell this product over the internet, reaping the benefits and
basking in the limelight. Realistically, I will make one model for the
Bradley University EE department, and probably one for myself. The
biggest drawback at the present moment is cost. The development board
that I am using costs over $300 dollars at the moment. That board has a
lot of extra features that I do not use.
WHEN!
The Networked Home Theater should be in a functional stage by the end of
March 2001, and should have a nice GUI by the end of April. I plan to
present this project at the Student Exposition at Bradley University,
where I will win 1st place.
HOW!
That's what the rest of this web site is for! Check it out!