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If you have a HTPC, chances are it is already
part of your home network for general internet use. However, there are many
other benefits of joining it to your network. This latest guide
will focus on one in particular that many will find extremely useful.
In fact, even if you're new to Home Theater PC's, I'm sure that most
will
eventually end up looking for this kind of setup and
functionality. So what am I talking about? Wireless folder/file
synchronization between local folders on each system. In this guide,
we'll not only cover setup instructions that features Vista and its
requirements, but also focus on
one excellent piece of software that will make the whole process
incredibly easy, while providing excellent performance and a high level of
control over all your media files.
Before we get started, let's cover how this
kind of setup can indeed be beneficial and highly convenient for many.
There are a number of benefits to
synchronizing your files over just having access to them. The main
reasons are simply that many will either use both for the same functions, or
prefer one over the other for certain tasks. Let's cover the benefits
in detail...
Music Playback - This is certainly one of the main reasons to consider
such a setup in the first place. Perhaps you have a large music
collection on your main PC that is not only the primary source, but is also
updated regularly. You want your HTPC to have access to it, but don't
wish to stream the files via a network due to network related issues that
will play a role in overall playback performance. Setting up your two
systems to sync all your music will allow you to keep using your main PC for
music downloads, storage and editing while ensuring that your HTPC's collection is
always updated.
DVD Ripping & Playback - Let's say you have a large storage array setup
on your HTPC where your entire movie collection primarily resides but also
prefer to use your main PC at times to rip certain movies for editing,
higher performance, installed software, preferred DVD writer, etc. Setting up both systems
to sync the files can be quite convenient in this case, as it will ensure
that you have access to every rip from both machines regardless of
its primary source.
Hardware or Software Preference - For many, the chances are high that
the hardware on their main system is significantly better than what they
chose to run their HTPC. As emphasized in our recent
HTPC Guide, you really don't need a
high-end system to run an HTPC efficiently. With that said, many may
prefer to use their main system to perform certain tasks such as CD/DVD
ripping, video editing, video encoding, image editing, etc. Being able
to sync all these files easily to your HTPC is highly convenient.
No More External Storage Connections Between Both PC's - Probably
the most convenient of all! With this kind of setup, you no longer
need to resort to external storage devices to perform file transfers.
This eliminates the inconvenience of having to constantly connect your
external storage device/s to your HTPC or vice versa. Yes, you can
forget about your hard drive enclosure or even your trusty flash drive.
Also note that this includes your MP3 player as well. When set up
properly, you can conveniently keep syncing your MP3 player with only your main
PC and not have to constantly disconnect the player to sync between both
machines. This also eliminates many possible sync issues that many
experience when attempting to create multiple sync partnerships on multiple
PC's.
Finally...
Peace of Mind - First of all, your
valuable data is protected in case you experience a major system crash on
one of the systems on your wireless network. Like standard backup practices, syncing your
files this way will always ensure that your most valuable data is always
safe.
In
addition, having files residing locally on each machine will eliminate a
number of playback related issues that will have an impact in
overall performance. You no longer need to rely heavily on your
network connection in order to achieve the highest level of performance.
Personally, no wireless network is 100% reliable nor do I resort to
streaming media wirelessly, regardless of type, range or devices used.
Regardless of how good your wireless network equipment may be, there will be
a time where you will experience some connectivity issues that will have an
impact in your overall media experience. For example, you don't what to be
listening to music or be watching a movie and have the connection lag or
drop in the middle of it. Syncing your files between multiple machines will
simply offer you peace of mind.
Now
that I've covered the main benefits of such a setup, let's start the guide
with a general look at network setup...
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