Stream audio from Mac to home theater

[hravishankar]

Hi,
I have researched a few forums to find a solution to this. I am aware of the options: Apple airport express, bluetooth options from belkin and lynksys etc,
My questions are as follows:
1. I hear that airport express has a limitation of playing only itunes music. what about other audio (example playing a movie on my Mac or iPad)? I understand that Airfoil is an option but again does not seem to play in sync with the movies played in Mac.
2. If I stream music /audio via Wi-fi - does the wifi effeciency come down - in terms of bandwidth?
3. Is the bluetooth option better? Does it play music well and audio well? It also appears to be a cheaper option. also what is the distance the bluetooth receiver supports without losing the effectiveness?

My best option would be to connect a wireless receiver to my home theater and stream music from iMac to hometheater via WI-FI. Please let me know if anyone has practical experience of doing this and would be a cheap yet effective option.

thanks
Ravi

 

[gannonsamuel]

I'd say the bluetooth looks like the best option...

I could be very wrong but i think Bluetooth is normall good for about 30 feet or so

Though if the home theater amp is in the same room (i guess it is if you want to watch movies etc) wouldn't it be easier just to use a Mini-Jack to RCA from the iMac's audio out and plug it into the input of the home theater?

 

[coops]

I use a Sonos system.
http://www.sonos.com

Not the cheapest option, but excellent.

1. Plays most (all?) formats... all my music is on an Apple TimeCapsule in Flac format, but check out their website.

2. One reason for extra expense is need for a box to connect to your time capsule etc which creates its own wireless network... very easy setup and no issues with bandwidth as it is dedicated to Sonos system only.

3. You can skip buying their remote and use the free ipad or iphone version. iPad one is what i use. No lag for fast forwarding etc through a track, going to next track etc etc.

4. Can choose an unamplified connection box to connect to your hifi or home theatre setup ( phono cables or optical also), or choose a self amplified box which means you only need supply speakers, for any other rooms etc...

5. Easy expansion to more rooms, and easy control of what,s playing where.