Ditching DLNA

HIGH END- PROJECTORS

- AL GRIFFIN

Q I have over 9,000 songs in various audio formats on a hard drive hooked to my computer. Most of these have been ripped from CDs or captured from vinyl over the years. To listen to the music, I stream it over my home network to a Samsung TV connected to a Denon receiver.

The audio quality with this setup is fine, but the visual effect of browsing through folders on a 70-inch screen leaves much to be desired. If I use my Sony Blu-ray player instead to stream the music, I get the same look: plain folders with no album artwork. Is there a way to browse and play your stored digital music library in a home theater using a visual interface like Microsoft Groove Music? One caveat: it needs to be inexpensive.

JAY SKLAROFF / VIA EMAIL

A I completely agree that the look of those folders used for audio/video/ photo file browsing in a DLNA streaming setup leaves much to be desired. But that’s basically what you get when you depend on a networked TV, Blu-ray player, or A/V receiver’s basic DLNA digital media player capability. Fortunately, there are plenty of inexpensive, and some not so inexpensive, ways to step up the visual aspect of the music listening experience in your home theater.