Help with network setup for son.

[dstanleyavc]

Hi not sure if this is the right place but here goes.

I am the proud owner of a two story 2500 SF. house. My son inhabits the north eastern upstairs bedroom and is asking me for help setting up his computers. He came to me with a list of materials and demands and I'm wondering if you can help me come up with a solution. He is 17

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"Hey BuB i need a new computer/Entertainment set up!
My materials!
One Aluminum Macbook
One Diy Desktop Computer with Windows 7 (wireless card attached)
One 750 gigabyte hardrive (USB - external)
One iPhone 3g
One iPod Video 30gig

My Demands!
1. I want to take the videos and music I download and buy and store them on a network drive, wirelessly.
2. I want to access and watch/listen to this media wirelessly on both by PC and MAC.
3. I want to be able to, without too much difficulty, watch them on the television in the living room (I.E. Only one file converter or some such not a 10 step process).
4. I want to be able to store files to this network drive from both MAC and PC and recall from both MAC and PC (don't worry about the hardrive format i have "NTFS star" for my mac and can read and write to NTFS formats)

This is all! Help me or Ill tell mom you let the dog run away!"
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Well thats it guys, its a birthday present for him but he likes the drama.
I need as much help as i can get.

My personal assests are the AirPort Xtreme i run in the house, my 1.8 dual G5 and my wife's iMac!

I'm looking for fantastic, realistic, and DIY solutions so anything you can provide would be great (anywhere to cut cost is fine!)

Help me do what i can for him since im pretty clueless on what to do!

(by the by the demands are only a joke to get my wife to let me spend money, she thinks its a game)

 

[1ne]

Sorry to say this but your son is a jerk. If my son makes these demands/ultimatum to me I would give him one-tight-slap.

There are so many ways you can go about doing this setup. What you are asking, sometime takes people here a lot time and research. Until today I still don't have the perfect home media setup. Close though.

You are going to need some kind of network to handle all these endpoints. A switch is a good start. NAS, popcorn hour is sweet and easy setup. You have a access point. Humm... not sure what else you need.

P.S By all means my suggestions is right or what you are looking for.

 

[Dr.Pants]

Sorry to say this but your son is a jerk. If my son makes these demands/ultimatum to me I would give him one-tight-slap.

Its what my parents would do to me.

However, a switch IS a good start. Personally, the way I would attempt to set it up would be to have the media server running off the switch; besides media serving and backup for your son, continuing to pop in HDDs could be a good backup solution for the rest of the household.

 

[geoffreak]

1. I want to take the videos and music I download and buy and store them on a network drive, wirelessly.

Attach the USB drive to the Windows PC and share it on the network. The MacBook will be able to connect to it. You can even set a password if you wish.

2. I want to access and watch/listen to this media wirelessly on both by PC and MAC.

See above. Shared drives can be accessed by both PCs and Macs.

3. I want to be able to, without too much difficulty, watch them on the television in the living room (I.E. Only one file converter or some such not a 10 step process).

As you have an aluminum MacBook, you will need a mDP to HDMI adapter to transmit video and a mini TOSLINK to TOSLINK cable for optical audio or a 3.5mm to RCA audio cable for analog stereo audio (depends on your setup).

4. I want to be able to store files to this network drive from both MAC and PC and recall from both MAC and PC (don't worry about the hardrive format i have "NTFS star" for my mac and can read and write to NTFS formats)

The file system of a hard drive is irrelevant when sharing on a network. You can format it whatever you like as long as the computer is connected to can read it.
Also, MacFUSE is the absolute best way to read NTFS drives on Mac and it is also free.

 

[dstanleyavc]

Thanks for all the help guys. Im looking into solutions along these lines...

Im surprised that despite my statement about it being a big joke for the misses that alot of you told me to beat my son... and while I do punish him with fervor... this was a joke for my wife. She thinks its cute.

So anyway thanks a bunch

 

[eckoman11]

I recommend getting a time capsule and apple tv.

 

[benkenobi]

I recommend getting a time capsule and apple tv.

Yea,

it looks like all you really need is a time capsule (wireless with usb, just buy the latest) and apple tv.
You guys are great parents btw for helping out your kid.

 

[Dan73]

Personally speaking how I would do it is set up a router with a NAS which every computer in the house has access to.

Then build myself a HTPC for the TV, or use Apple TV if you want.