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UPDATE: Thanks everyone for the ideas! This was an area I knew very little about but now I can talk with a little more expertise about it. Much appreciated!

Visited my dad this weekend and he wants to pipe some internet radio he's found down to a tuner on quite a distance away in the house.

He uses computers for only very basic things: e-mail, getting the Post crossword, checking Yahoo!, checking recipes, etc.

There's currently one computer in the house (no router).

My initial suggestion (without any research whatsoever) was to get a wireless router and a netbook for downstairs near the tuner, but he initially wasn't too keen about having another computer down there.

Anyway, is there any computer hardware that could magically pipe the audio output from the computer down to one set of (RCA) audio inputs on the tuner? Wireless isn't necessary but it probably would be easier.

Anyway, thanks for your suggestions!

UPDATE Thanks everyone! Voted up all of your suggestions now that I have 15 rep. Much appreciated.

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5 Answers 5

up vote 3 down vote accepted

You should ask your father if he would consider a purchasing a device like the Squeezebox. The Squeezebox connects to your stereo and your network and can play internet audio with no computer necessary.

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Don't forget that the squeezebox connects to either wlan or ethernet, and since you probably should get a router anyway (for security reasons). It is a nice pice. –  Johan Sep 14 '09 at 11:56

Not a audio person here so someone else may say something better-

I have seen a number of devices that are actual internet radio players that you should be able to hook directly in to the receiver.

On top of this, you may just want to find a audio card for the PC that has RCA out, or some connector that you can get a converter for RCA so you can plug the PC directly in to the receiver.

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You can get FM transmitters (like people use to play iPods in cars) to send the sound around the house to be received on a normal tuner. Not sure of the range though.

Failing that, an adapter to split the headphone style output from the computer into left and right RCA sockets, and a set of long RCA cables would suffice.

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The type used for iPods/cars... very very short. Like a few feet at best. There might be something better for household use, though. –  Robert Cartaino Aug 25 '09 at 4:13
Here's one that can do a greater range (when used wit the hardware mod specified) amazon.com/Crane-FMT-Digital-Transmitter-Adapter/dp/B0000E6I1N/… –  Matthew Lock Aug 25 '09 at 4:18
-1 The sound quality is usually really bad with those FM transmitters... (but maybe they are better now days...) –  Johan Sep 14 '09 at 11:59

How about a pair of wireless speakers?

I would research them a bit but I spotted this one with a remote.

Cables Unlimited Audio Unlimited SPK-VELO-W Premium 900Mhz Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Speakers with Remote

alt text

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Pretty much anything you use is going to be effectively a computer.

It doesn't have to look like one though - the ASUS EeeBox 202 will do the job, and looks like a bit of generic hardware, and probably about the same cost as the squezebox (which was insanely overpriced when I saw it). It will also stream video.

If you're into DIY, you could grab something like this http://beagleboard.org/ and hide it somewhere :)

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