Garage Media


  Now that we have The Garage is our Next Gen media room. It was a place I could green-field and showcase optimal Garage Media capabilities. It was spawned by the Garage Build build followed by the Garage Electronics Rack. Here are a few glimpses into the capabilities of this automotive splendor (though we have yet to actually do anything automotive in the garage).

  Garage Desk The Garage Media Control Console. Here, a contemporary eBay sourced LCD monitor (replacing the classic 17" CRT) and wireless keyboard mouse help manage the media capabilities of the Garage. These I/O modules connect to the eBay PC stowed in the top cabinet. That PC, in turn is connected to the network (via wired ethernet), the inside audio amplifier (via analog soon to be replaced by S/PDIF as is everything in the main house), the outside audio amp, and the Television Monitor on the other side of the room. I also moved another phone jack to the desk area, since the other phone location is a bit out of reach from the desk. having a phone switch in the house helps handle all the wired line phones. The desk stows important garage items, like shoes, a baseball and a Laguna Seca hat.

  A close up of the old classic CRT screen. Here, Sage TV Client, the fourth in the Outcrop Acres enterprise, is connected to the Sage TV Media Server, located in the main house. The PC Video is configured to show full screen on the TV (see below). This allows me to watch all my SCCA Run-Off and Formula 1 races while hanging in the garage while still using the PC monitor for email, Internet Explorer, and iTunes. By muting Sage, I can jam on iTunes to my own library or Radio Paradise, located on the Music Server in the house.

  Here is the TV with the image above shown full screen. If there is no Sage playing, this TV simply display's the PC screen. Alternatively, it can tune regular TV or connect to Channel 81, the Outcrop Acres channel which displays anything currently running on the main house TV room system (which could include DirecTv, another Media PC, or Playstation.

  The TV in its position. Note also the Intercom connected to the main house intercom. Good for communicating en masse if anyone other than me wanted to or cared. Also good for Saturday morning CarTalk and NPR. Not much decor on the walls yet, except for the electronics. I'm trying to figure out whether to hang a nice wool tapestry here or some 2x4 and plywood shelves for holding dirty junk. Hmm.

  This is one of the speakers driven by the Sony amp driven by the Garage PC. Note also the two line telephone. Line 1 is connected to the normal, incoming telephone line. Line 2 is connected to the FX-207 KCE TEchnology PBX that allows calling between Garage and House.

  Rack on the top shelf of the media rack. The top two panels are used mostly by speaker connections. The middle connections in the second panel are the amp outputs. Currently they drive Speaker Sets 4 and 7. Connections on Panel 2 are outside speakers.

  One of the outside speakers. With the banana plugs on the media rack, I can move them to any pair of speakers I want. One day, I'll add another speaker amp or switch.

Wire Me