Home Cinema Setup - help a noob :)

PeepSqueak

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Home Cinema Setup - help a noob

Hi all,

I've recently bought a house and want to set up a home cinema properly. I am completely lost with all these devices and what apps etc I need to run them, but, I know what I'd like to achieve so I've listed it out below. If anyone can offer any help I'd be eternally grateful.

Devices:
Tv – none yet. Any suggestions welcome!
NAS – Synology DS415play
Projector – none yet. Thought about LG PW600 / PW700. Any suggestions welcome!
Laptop – macbook pro & PC notebook
iPad - Mini
iPhone - 5s
iPod – Nano 3rd Gen
Speaker 1 – orbitsound M12 M12 SOUNDBAR BLACK | Buy online at Orbitsound.co.nz
Speaker 2 – Orbitsound Spaced360 Portable
Chromecast Audio x2

Media:
Video files stored in NAS
Music files in iPhone, iPad, iPod
Spotify – free version
Browser mirroring e.g. youtube

What I want to achieve:
To be able to wirelessly stream media from various devices to a tv attached to a soundbar (orbitsound M12) in the living room, and, wirelessly steam media from the same devices to a projector and wireless speaker (Orbitsound Spaced360) in the bedroom.

I’d like to achieve this with as little wires and extra apps as possible.


Much appreciated,
PeepSqueak
 
Wireless will be your problem especially with 1080p and greater, it will really be better to go the wired route or at least homehubs depending on your wiring
 
Wireless will be your problem especially with 1080p and greater, it will really be better to go the wired route or at least homehubs depending on your wiring

Thanks JonMace. What do you mean by 'homehub' - the router? The house is completely bare so I can wire up anything under the floors etc but wanted to keep away from that.

What I was thinking was to have the tv connected to the soundbar via optic, router and NAS in the living room and I expect I would need something that can connect them, is that what the Homehub is?

Then the projector and wireless speaker in the bedroom which I heard can be connected using a Chromecast group using a Chromecast 2 in the projector and a Chromecast Audio in the speaker, however, the Chromecasts need power (another 2 cables!)

Sorry if I didn't understand your reply.
 
Homehubs (prob have other names too) are plugs that go in your electrical sockets then a network cable from there to your device
 
Power over Ethernet adapters are good value but some people mind how they look.
 
@JonMace
ok, so that would mean the bedroom projector would be connected to the network via the plug and the living room would be next to the NAS and router so no need for a plug there?

The speaker in the bedroom would still have to be connected to the projector via something like a Chromecast Audio though, I think.

I think I can then play the content on the NAS with a build in player through the iPad/iPhone/Mac to the tv or projector. I think there are issues mirroring a browser that way though.

@KishB
Hey, thanks for replying. Is that the Homehub JonMace mentioned?
 
Yep same thing.

Personally I would not use chromecasts, instead I would use someting like RPi3 with openelec, you can still control it with your ipad etc but IMO it will do a much better job
 
Raspberry Pi3.
Openelec
GMYLE Remote
Upgrade your spotify to Premium and install SPOTIMC

and you're done for £60
 
ok, thanks for your replies.

So am I understanding this correctly...

LIVING ROOM:
The NAS can connect to the smart tv to play video/music files - I assume I can access the files with the remote for the tv?
The soundbar is connected to the smart tv
@Smallclone Is the RPi3 instead of the ipad/iphone/mac or is it acting like a receiver e.g. Apple TV?

BEDROOM:
powerline Ethernet adapter to connect the projector to the network so I can access the NAS
wireless speaker connects to the projector. This would depend on if the projector has sound via bluetooth


Am I right in thinking that all I'm missing is a receiver in the living room and the software?

Sorry if I sound like a complete moron but I just can't get my head round this set up. I suppose if I take all my devices and go into the Apple Store or an AV shop I can try out different set ups. Or..if anyone in London could recommend a home visiting AV expert?

many thanks!
 
Use the RPis as a streamer in each room.

NAS - > Router
Router -> powerline

Each Display

powerline -> RPi
RPi -> Display via HDMI
RPi -> Soundsystem via Bluethoth

The software on the RPi will be OpenElec, this is available on the Mac too as Kodi, its free so you can try it and see what you think
 
ok, thanks for your replies.

So am I understanding this correctly...

LIVING ROOM:
The NAS can connect to the smart tv to play video/music files - I assume I can access the files with the remote for the tv?
The soundbar is connected to the smart tv
@Smallclone Is the RPi3 instead of the ipad/iphone/mac or is it acting like a receiver e.g. Apple TV?

BEDROOM:
powerline Ethernet adapter to connect the projector to the network so I can access the NAS
wireless speaker connects to the projector. This would depend on if the projector has sound via bluetooth


Am I right in thinking that all I'm missing is a receiver in the living room and the software?

Sorry if I sound like a complete moron but I just can't get my head round this set up. I suppose if I take all my devices and go into the Apple Store or an AV shop I can try out different set ups. Or..if anyone in London could recommend a home visiting AV expert?

many thanks!

So as Jon said, use the RPi3 as the device that is pulling your files from the NAS and putting them on tv. You may need 2 of these though, depending on how smart your tv is, or what you want to do.

Spotify sounds great through my 5.1 system through SPOTIMC on Kodi. It requires spotify premium though.

Install Openelec onto the SD card of the Rpi3. Google how to do this. Personally I wouldn't get invovled with the apple products. You don't need to. You have a mini HTPC instead (RPi3)
 
Hi guys,

thanks for your help. I'm going to do some research into your suggested setup but from what I've read already, would I even need an HTPC since the Synology DS415play has a media player (not sure if that's the right terminology) on it? Then couple that with a new smart tv.

Even if I do need a RPi, they're pretty small and can be tucked away out of sight I suppose.

I've also gone and bought an Orbitsound M12 which I've linked to my current , dumb tv via optic cable. Which works really well. And a Spaced360 that connects via Bluetooth. The Bluetooth didn't work too well - bad sync on BBC iPlayer but I found a fix that reset the bluetooth settings on the MBP and it seems to work fine now.

They also threw in a couple of Chromecast Audios but they're just more things to plug in and I don't see where I would use them yet.

Cheers
 

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