Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


kingdragonfly

11190 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#265369 18-Jan-2020 14:53
Send private message

I'm looking for cheap solution to play the audio from a Windows 10 PC throughout my home, over three pairs of speakers, in three rooms.

My home is 2 stories, about 11 meters by 11 meters.

I have CAT6 cables running throughout.

Priorities

1) cost most important

2) if wired, must work through a 1Gbps network switch. If wireless, must have decent range and/or work with 802.11n 100 Mbps (real bandwidth 72 Mbps)

3) simplicity (plug and play, or something like an autostart monitor-less Raspberry pi)

4) then reliability (will play most of day, every day)

5) audio quality least important. It doesn't have to be perfectly synchronized, as doors to rooms will be closed.

Cheers

Create new topic
Dunnersfella
4086 posts

Uber Geek


  #2401427 18-Jan-2020 16:25
Send private message

Cheap, end-of-line powered multi-room speakers... maybe on TradeMe.

 

Hard wire them.

 

Oh yeah make sure they will play via Windows MP.

 

There have been a host of multi-room attempts from LG / Samsung etc that may have left speakers kicking around the 2nd hand market.




richms
28168 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2401439 18-Jan-2020 17:25
Send private message

Don't touch the LG ones. Complete trash support, and they had an upgrade which just bricked multiroom using their own app, only works with grouping in chromecast now with its lousy functionality and which cant be fed from the 3.5mm input or bluetooth. No way to downgrade so mine are all just acting as speakers for echos if they have the input, or gathering dust on the H3's which have no input. I really should offload them sometime.





Richard rich.ms

richms
28168 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2401441 18-Jan-2020 17:27
Send private message

As a way of doing it, I would install OBS on the PC, and set it up to stream to a multicast address, then on the other devices just run VLC and play the multicast URL that you put in the windows PC to stream to. Iffy on wireless, but has worked for me on wired cheap junk android TV boxes when I needed to send a windows desktop around the place for other people to look at.





Richard rich.ms



SATTV
1648 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #2401442 18-Jan-2020 17:32
Send private message

define cheap.

 

If it were me, I would get three Sonos devices, plays over the wifi, job done for less than a grand and no mucking around.

 

John





I know enough to be dangerous


kingdragonfly

11190 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

  #2401452 18-Jan-2020 18:32
Send private message

richms:

As a way of doing it, I would install OBS on the PC, and set it up to stream to a multicast address, then on the other devices just run VLC and play the multicast URL that you put in the windows PC to stream to. Iffy on wireless, but has worked for me on wired cheap junk android TV boxes when I needed to send a windows desktop around the place for other people to look at.



If someone else happens upon this thread

Open Broadcaster Software: Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming.

  • High performance real time video/audio capturing and mixing. Create scenes made up of multiple sources including window captures, images, text, browser windows, webcams, capture cards and more.

  • Set up an unlimited number of scenes you can switch between seamlessly via custom transitions

  • Intuitive audio mixer with per-source filters such as noise gate, noise suppression, and gain. Take full control with VST plugin support.

  • Powerful and easy to use configuration options. Add new Sources, duplicate existing ones, and adjust their properties effortlessly.

  • Streamlined Settings panel gives you access to a wide array of configuration options to tweak every aspect of your broadcast or recording.

  • Modular 'Dock' UI allows you to rearrange the layout exactly as you like. You can even pop out each individual Dock to its own window.

  • kingdragonfly

    11190 posts

    Uber Geek

    Subscriber

      #2401456 18-Jan-2020 18:41
    Send private message

    SATTV:

    define cheap.


    If it were me, I would get three Sonos devices, plays over the wifi, job done for less than a grand and no mucking around.


    John




    Create new topic





    News and reviews »

    Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
    Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


    eero Pro 7 Review
    Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


    BeeStation Plus Review
    Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


    eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
    Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


    WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
    Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


    RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
    Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


    Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
    Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


    Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
    Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


    Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
    Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


    Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
    Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


    Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
    Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


    Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
    Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


    Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
    Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


    D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
    Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


    Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
    Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









    Geekzone Live »

    Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



    Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.