Statement of Need:
A lot of new homes today are wired for network capabilities. With these
capabilities there is the possibility to run audio and video anywhere
in the house using a central server. The smart home should be improved
from only being hooked up through an expensive hard wired system to a
plug and play system that can be used in conjunction with an existing
CAT5 network.
Preliminary Requirements:
The smart home system should consist of a central server with add on client
modules that should be as close to plug and play as possible to make it
easier for the consumer. Along with this, the units in each room should
be as small as possible to save space and not to be “eye sores”.
The units should be relatively cheap making it affordable to as many people
as possible, with as many features as we could afford such as parental
control. Moreover, the units should also use the TCP/IP protocol to make
them versatile and capable to be hook up anywhere the internet is available.
Likewise, there will need to be amplifier to power speakers and/or a signal
out to a television.
There will be two devices built. One will be a small plug and play audio control box, that will be able to be plugged in anywhere in the house using a internet connection. This device will be able to request MP3 files from the server and decode them. For user ease the device is going to be controlled in two different ways. One way is through push buttons right on the device, but since not everybody wants to get up to change a song an IR remote control will be implemented to change to next song in the folder. The device will also have a 40Watt amplifier to drive speakers that will be plugged right into it.
The second device will be a little bigger, because it will take the place of a DVD player right next to the TV. This device will have all the features of the small audio control box, but on top of that it will be video compatible. Like the other device it will request MPEG/WMA/DivX format files decode them and send them to the TV to be displayed. Audio files will be sent directly to the speakers. This device will also have a DVD-ROM to play DVDs. The DVD player doesn’t have to have any interface with the server. It should play any DVD that is inserted into the device. The controls of the device will be utilized through few push buttons on the device, as well as an IR remote control with a Text Overlay on the TV to display the menu and the requested files. The amplifier is optional on this device since TV comes with its own.
Basic Limitations:
The first limitation is time followed by cost. Video might also be a limitation
because of complexity involved in setting it up along with the cost that
is associated with video capabilities. Moreover, we may not be able to
find a WMA/MP3/AIFF/ect decoder chip, making incoming web stream hard
to decode.
Questions:
What will the resolution be of the video?
Web streaming?
What is the better option Ethernet or wireless?
Should also have the unit be able to display pictures?
