Was: Paging Comfort CWI Gurus... Now: TTS & WHA

["rb_ziggy" <richard.boreham@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Paul (or anyone else who want's to comment)

Having been playing around with ACE TTS and Neospeach (works very well
thanks), I've not decided to go the whole hog and start the kitting
out for whole house audio.

A few years back, we put in speaker cable star wired back to node 0
(well the loft) plus runs of shielded cat 5 to light switch positions.
The aim (before running out of cash) was to install some type of
central WHA system (e.g. QED Systemline /Russound).  However, things
WHA have moved on but we are constrained a bit by this wiring so we
can't use some of the newer versions like A-Bus etc.

Notwithstanding this, my own ideas have changed and I want to go with
a PC Server based system along the following lines:

- PC server running ACETTS etc and acting as home entertainment
server. Running multiple soundcards as a multisource for WHA.  Volume
control, source selection etc all PC based.
- Power amp (6 x stereo) purely to boost line level to speaker level.
Each soundcard stereo pair mapping 1:1 to one power-amp input pair
(i.e. there is no matrix switching here yet - although it could be
added later).
- In ceiling speakers.
- All remote control by (probably) web based control on wireless PDAs.
(e.g. something like XLobby etc).

Aim is only for audio distribution.  Video is otherwise catered for.
I think this setup will actually be more SWMBO friendly than
propriatory wall controllers and will be a fraction of the price. I
don't think the lack of a matrix switcher will be too much of an issue
for the present although it does constrain a bit.

Now, I'd be most interested how you manage your audio distribution and
TTS overlay. Playing around with Windows media player running music,
TTS just neatly mixes in to the music (gets lost in reality but it is
there).  I think it may be different with other servers (e.g. Winamp -
which ACETTS can control directly it seems).

You may have noticed from the Comfort forum that I'm also thinking
about distributing TTS back to the Comfort keypads.

Regards

Richard




--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "Paul Gale" <groups@s...> wrote:
> Just ask away re the whole house audio stuff when you have questions
:)
>