Ask a guru: play music from computer to living room?

I would like to get some help from the show's gurus, please.

I'm looking into getting a home theater system for my living room. Nothing too intricate, probably just a 1-box deal with some speakers and a receiver to hook up to my current TV.

What I would like to know is, if I want to play music wirelessly from my computer in the other room to these new home theater speakers, what do I have to do? Do I have to buy a home theater that's "wifi" or would I use my computer's wireless router somehow?

Hopefully I won't need a real guru to come to my house to help me hook it up. Thanks. :)

Hello Mr. Sparkle!

This a great question, because we spend thousands of dollars on this expensive, fancy, expensive home theater setup, but we can't even do something as simple as play music from the computer. ;)

Well if you have the FiOS service, you can stream music from your computer to your FiOS box. I actually did a short video demo of it here.

First thing you want to do is go tohttp://www22.verizon.com/content/fiostv/dvr/ and download the software. Run the software and you can use the interface to setup streaming music and pictures.

Currently, the software is only available for PC's.

If you do not have FiOS yet, or don't have a PC, There are several options available for you!

Apple TV - Apple TV is a small box, that connects to your home network and finds all the computers with shared files.
the good - It is really easy to setup; you can search youtube videos right from your couch; good user interface.

the bad - you may have issues reading files from PC's; requires updates often.

There are tons of Microsoft branded home media PC's and players out there that add to your collection of video and music players. Just do a search for 'Network media players'.

Lloyd's Pick
My favourite device for home network media, is (drum roll)
The Logitech Squeezebox Duet!
This is hands down an all around excellent device. It gives you access to the music that you seek, as well as access to online music stores. Everything is accessible from the ipod-like remote control that communicates with the base station. Another plus is the support for customization. If you are like me, and like to make a device your own by customizing it, then this is def. the device for you.

Thanks, and I hope this helps!

Wow, you must have been wishing REALLY hard! ;)

http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2008/this-is-fios-this-is-nyc.html