streaming audio over network?

U

unreconstructed1

New Member
Hi, i've done some searching, but can't really find what I'm looking for. I have 2 PCs that I'm using over a network, I've got a hardware/software layer KM, and I've got various files open and mapped for use as shared drives.

my question is, is there a program that I can use, which is similar to the software layer KM management, that'll allow me to use some sort of "virtual sound card", so I can send all of the audio from computer A to the speakers/headphones of computer B?

Computer specs:
"A" is a Compaq Presario
Windows XP Home edition SP3

"B" is a Compaq Presario
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
 
Interesting. What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Having the same song playing in different rooms or - ? :confused:

I mean, you can open up a music file on a network share from any computer with access to that share. But since you're asking for some sort of "virtual sound card" I assume that you want the music to be playing on the host machine as well as the remote machine...

I did a quick google search and came up with this: http://lifehacker.com/256052/how-to-stream-your-music-to-any-pc

There's some options available there. But we'd be better able to assist you if we knew exactly what you're setting out to accomplish.
 
Do you want to share the files between the two computers? If so just set up a home network with shared folders. It's a bit harder than windows 7 but still pretty easy. And I don't really understand what a "virtual sound card is", every computer has onboard audio that does the digital to analogue conversions.
 
sorry, i suppose I should have been a little more specific.

I have a couple of monitors on each computer, and I use each monitor to display different programs, browser windows etc. ATM, I am attempting to teach myself C++ programming, so I have Visual Studio express on one monitor, and the relevant documentation on the other monitors, instead of constantly switching between pages. the second computer, computer "A" I use for smaller tasks, just to keep processing power freed up on "computer B".

occasionally my wife is watching TV in my computer room, so I plug headphones into "B" when I want to play music. what I would like to do is to be able to have all audio (music computer sounds, etc.) set so that the audio output is transferred to the speakers, or the headphones, on computer "B"

before, I had a 3.5 male to male audio cable connecting the two, from the audio output jack on "A" to the line in on "B", but If I need to use my mic, then I am unable to do so. what I would like is a software component that would do the same thing.

hopefully I explained it a little better this time around.
 
Why can't you just play the music from computer A on computer B via the network? I do that all the time at my house. If you have set up a simple Windows network, then you should be able to access the files on computer A from computer B, and vice-versa.

You're worried about using too much processing power up on computer B by playing an audio file? That shouldn't take very much processing power at all... :confused:
 
deanj20 said:
Why can't you just play the music from computer A on computer B via the network? I do that all the time at my house. If you have set up a simple Windows network, then you should be able to access the files on computer A from computer B, and vice-versa.

You're worried about using too much processing power up on computer B by playing an audio file? That shouldn't take very much processing power at all... :confused:
Click to expand...

it's not so much that I just want to play music stored on "A", in fact, all of my music is stored on "B", and I share it on the network in order to play it on "A"

what I need is a way to eliminate the speakers on "A" altogether.
Think about a KVM switch for a minute. whether hardware or software, that switch allows one mouse and keyboard to be used across all networked computers. I want something similar for the audio, but on a software level. I want to be able to eliminate the speakers on "A" alltogether and have all sounds, music, computer sounds, etc. to be played on "B"s speakers.
understand now?

sorry if I have been unclear on this, but I suppose I have a somewhat strange setup...

maybe I should have posted this on the software forums instead...
 
Hrmmm... Yeah, I don't know about that. I don't see the point - and that's probably why there isn't any software out there to do it. I guess you could use VNC, enable audio and then minimize the window. That might work.

But anyway, the cheapest and easiest solution would be to just buy a cheap audio card online (or wherever) that has a mic in, line in, and line out. Then you can run your 3.5mm cable to the line in, and still have a port open for your mic.

Hope that helps.
 
deanj20 said:
Hrmmm... Yeah, I don't know about that. I don't see the point - and that's probably why there isn't any software out there to do it. I guess you could use VNC, enable audio and then minimize the window. That might work.

But anyway, the cheapest and easiest solution would be to just buy a cheap audio card online (or wherever) that has a mic in, line in, and line out. Then you can run your 3.5mm cable to the line in, and still have a port open for your mic.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

yeah, that's probably what I'll have to do. thanks for the help.
 
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