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The best gear of the year.

Serve it Up – Audio and Video Servers Galore

Maybe you've got a huge collection of digital music, and you'd really love to listen to it throughout your home, instead of simply on your iPod.

Perhaps you want to rip your DVD collection to disc and secret the cases away in storage.

No matter the particulars, chances are you have digital media you want to enjoy in the more comfortable parts of your home—away from the desktop. Enter media servers.

When it comes to summer fun, there should be no strings attached.

Who doesn’t like the idea of spending a warm summer’s evening out on the deck, with the grill fired up and your favorite tunes filling the airwaves? While the idea is nice, the execution often leaves us a bit intimidated.

From One to Many

Request built its name as the Mercedes of music servers. Other music servers work fine, but most of them are as dully competent as a Toyota Corolla. Like an E-Class sedan, Request’s servers rise above mediocrity with superior construction and thoughtful, unique features.

NetStreams adds powerful new video and automation features to its infinitely expandable audio system.

It’s incredible to think that only a few years ago, we had no idea what music we were playing. When we hit the track skip or disc change buttons on our CD changers, we didn’t know what was coming up—unless our memory was really good. Digital technology changed all that, though. Suddenly, we’re scrolling through the menus on our iPods to select our favorite music. Or glancing at a display to see what tune is playing on Sirius satellite radio’s Underground Garage channel.

But now I can see—what my Russound multiroom audio system is playing, that is.

Of all the promises the tech industry has made over the years, none has been more surprising, and more satisfying, than the promise of the wireless home. Until a few years ago, the only way to get whole-house video and audio was to run wires behind walls and through floors. A single whole-house wiring job could run six figures and sometimes quickly became obsolete. But now there’s a better way.