11 Play Music or Video in the Exercise Room

by Jeff Creamer

A. Helpful Terms & Definitions

“Audio Stack” – This refers to the three pieces of sound equipment in the room that should normally be left connected to the power strip located under the “A/V Connection Center” sign. The pieces of gear are:

• Harman-Kardon HK3770 Bluetooth-Enabled Stereo Amp/Radio.

• IOGear Long Range Wireless HDMI Receiver, Model GWHDMS52MB

• J-Tech HDMI Audio Extractor with 3-way switch, Model JTD4KAT0301SW

Note: It is best to switch off the Harman-Kardon receiver before you cut off power to it using the red rocker switch on the power strip. However, you can switch the IOGear receiver and J-Tech audio extractor on and off via the power strip without worries.

RCA Plugs & Jacks– Connectors commonly used for sound cables since the 1950s. In our setup, these carry audio from the J-Tech splitter to the HK amplifier.

RCA Plugs (male)

RCA Jacks (female)

 

HDMI – “High Definition Multimedia Interface”, a male/female cable connector system and digital protocol that carries concurrent picture and sound.

 

Video pictures in Room 302 must to go to the overhead projector, while sound must go to the Harmon Kardon amplifier and speakers. The J-Tech Switch / HDMI Audio Extractor pulls the sound out of the HDMI cable and outputs it on a red-and-white, left-and-right stereo RCA cord. The J-Tech extractor passes HDMI video and audio through unchanged to the projector as well.

 

B. Our Equipment

 

Equipment List

• Harman-Kardon HK3770 Bluetooth-Enabled Stereo Amp/Receiver.

• Remote control for the above

• Pair of Sony 5-1/4-Inch Bookshelf Speakers, Model SS-B1000

• J-Tech HDMI Audio Extractor with 3-way switch, Model JTD4KAT0301SW

• Remote control for the above

• Epson PowerLite LCD WXGA Projector, Model 935W (3700 lumens)

• Remote control for the above

• IOGear Long Range Wireless HDMI Transmitter and Receiver, Model GWHDMS52MB

C. Important Notes

About the Remotes – It would be nice if we could use the Harman Kardon remote to control the sound volume across the room. However, like most remotes, this one uses an infrared LED to send commands rather than radio signals. Infrared LEDs are directional and the beam must be sent line-of-sight.

To operate the receiver by remote, you must stand directly in front of it within about 30 feet, and point your remote directly at the receiver when signaling, to be sure that it “hears” you.

For managing volume, the best plan is to set the receiver to mid-range somewhere, around -15 to -10 dB, then leave it alone. After that you should adjust the volume at the phone or laptop which is sending the signal.

Fortunately, you need only the Epson remote to make the routine connections we are demonstrating today and can ignore the remotes for the receiver and audio extractor.

Epson Projector Remote– Use this remote to turn the Epson Projector on and off. Color mode, aspect ratio, zoom, input source, and other settings on the remote all work with our setup by default. These settings can and generally should be left alone.

Important: Like the HK receiver remote, the Epson remote also uses an infrared LED. Please be advised that the infrared sensor on the Epson projector is located on its back side (rear end), which means that for best results you should stand behind the projector to control it.

The only button on the Epson remote you really need is the little red one that turns it on and off. To use it, stand behind the projector within 30 feet of it, point the remote at the projector’s backside, and press the red button. Watch the projector to see the power light turn on and off.

C. Block Diagram

 

D. Playback Modes

• Play Through the Receiver from Your Phone via BlueTooth

• Play Video and Sound from Your Laptop (DVD, YouTube, etc.) Using Direct HDMI Cable

• Play Video and Sound from Your Laptop Via the IoGear Wireless Transmitter

E. Play Music from Your Phone through the Receiver (via BlueTooth):

1. Apply power to the Audio Stack (depress red rocker switch on power strip – see Figure 1).

2. Switch on the HK3770 receiver at its lower lefthand corner.

3. Cycle the receiver’s Selector buttons either up or down until you see “BlueTooth” (see Figure 2). The selector switches should be depressed slowly – so count down two seconds (“1,001 - 1,002”) between each press.

4. Set receiver volume to approximately -15 dB

5. In your phone’s Settings, find Bluetooth.

6. Connect to the HK3770 device with your phone.

Sound from your phone now plays through the loudspeakers.

When Finished Playing Music From Your Phone:

1. Stop playback on your phone.

2. Open your phone’s Settings and disconnect the HK770 device.

3. Switch off the HK3770 receiver, at its lower lefthand corner.

4. Turn power to the Audio Stack off using the red rocker switch on the power strip.

Figure 1. Red Rocker Switch.

Figure 2. BlueTooth Input Selected On the HK3770 for Audio from Phone.

Figure 3. CD/ANA 1 or CABLE SAT/ANA 1 (Analog #1) Inputs Selected On HK3770: Either Setting Good for Playing DVDs or Online Videos from Laptop.

F. Connect a DVD or YouTube on your Laptop to Room Video by Direct HDMI Cable:

Before you begin, check that you have the following items at hand:

• An HDMI cable, about 6 feet long, to hook your laptop to the J-Tech splitter.

• The remote control for the Epson projector.

1. Apply power to the Audio Stack by depressing the red rocker switch on the power strip – see Figure 1. It should light up.

2. Switch on the HK3770 receiver, at its lower left corner.

3. Cycle the receiver’s Selector buttons up and/or down until you see either “CABLE SAT / ANA1” or “CD / ANA1” (see Figure 3). [Note: the selector switches work best if you depress them slowly, counting two seconds “1,001 - 1,002” between each of your presses.]

4. Set receiver volume to approximately -15 dB

5. Set your laptop on the bench near the A/V Connection Center sign. To keep the laptop charged, plug the charger unit into an empty socket on the power strip and also connect it to your laptop.

6. Start the video on your laptop and be sure it plays properly through the laptop’s internal speakers.

Figure 4. (A) the IoGear Video Receiver, and (B) the J-Tech Audio Extractor. Note the yellow dot on the extractor where external audio/video are fed in, via HDMI cable. The remote for the Extractor, not needed for routine use, is lying on top of it in this photo.

Figure 5. Close-up of the default input port on the J-Tech extractor, where either your laptop or the IoGear receiver can be connected.

7. Now use the HDMI cable to connect your laptop to the J-Tech audio extractor, where the yellow paper dot is on the front panel (see Figure 4). You must disconnect any HDMI cable already attached to the extractor there. Your laptop will feed audio and video to the J-Tech splitter through the HDMI cable you supply.

Figure 6. Close-up of the left side of the HP laptops, showing the HDMI I/O port.

8. Plug one end of your HDMI cable into the HDMI output of your laptop (see Figure 6). If the video is playing, sound on the internal speakers will automatically be re-directed to the amplifier..

9. Stand BEHIND the projector and turn it on by pointing the remote at the projector’s BACK and pressing the red power button.

10. Once the projector warms up and adjusts to your signal, your video will appear on the screen.

Video and audio from your laptop now both play through the projector and loudspeakers.

When You’re Finished Playing Video by Direct HDMI:

1. Stop playback on the laptop.

2. Stand BEHIND the projector and use the remote control to turn it off, pressing the red button quickly twice.

3. Switch off the HK3770 receiver, at its lower left corner.

4. Turn off power to the Audio Stack (red rocker switch).

5. Remove the additional cable that you attached to the J-Tech splitter at the yellow dot. Replace the cable that was originally attached there.

6. Disconnect your laptop and charger. Store the additional cable and the remote with your laptop.

G. Connect a DVD or YouTube on your Laptop to Room Video Using the IoGear Wireless Transmitter:

The IoGear Wireless Transmitter has an advertised range of 200 feet. No battery is built into the transmitter, so you must plug it in. Before you begin, check that you have all these items at hand:

• The IoGear Wireless Transmitter

• The power supply for the IoGear Transmitter.

• A separate HDMI cable, to attach your laptop to the Transmitter.

• The remote control for the Epson projector.

1. Apply power to the Audio Stack via the red rocker switch on power strip – see Figure 1.

2. Switch on the HK3770 receiver, at its lower left corner.

3. Cycle the receiver’s Selector buttons up and/or down until you see either “CABLE SAT / ANA1” or “CD / ANA1” (see Figure 3). [Note: the selector switches work best if you depress them slowly, counting two seconds “1,001 - 1,002” between each press.]

4. Set receiver volume to approximately -15 dB

5. For a practice site, set up your laptop on the bench near the north door of the Exercise Room, where a power strip is available. (See Figure 7).

Figure 7. The full setup for remote video transmission. The five steps to connect are lettered in order: A) Plug in charger to power strip and laptop. B) Turn on laptop, log it in, make sure video plays alone. C) Plug in transmitter power supply. D) Attach power supply to transmitter (see Figure 8 for more detail). E) Connect HDMI cable to transmitter and to laptop. F) Turn on the projector using its remote.

6. To keep the laptop charged, plug the charger unit into an empty socket on the power strip and also connect it to your laptop.

7. Turn on your laptop, log it in, and start the video you want to play. Make sure it plays properly through the laptop’s internal speakers.

8. Plug in the transmitter’s power supply, and attach its output to the input power pin on the transmitter (see Figure 8 below).

Figure 8. IoGear transmitter connections (top edge). The power input is at left. The transmitter can transmit from up to four input devices, but for simplicity it is recommended that you use the first (default) input on the left, number 1.

9. Now connect your laptop to the transmitter using the HDMI cable. If the video is playing, this will interrupt the sound coming out of the internal speakers. Sound will begin to play through the receiver.

10. Stand BEHIND the projector and turn it on by pointing the remote at the projector’s BACK and pressing the red power button.

11. When the projector swarms up and adjusts to your signal, your video will appear on the screen.

Video and audio from your laptop now play on the projector and loudspeakers.

When You Finish Playing Video by Wireless:

1. Stop playback on the laptop.

2. Stand BEHIND the projector and use the remote control to turn it off, pressing the red button quickly twice.

3. Switch off the HK3770 receiver, at its lower left corner.

4. Turn off power to the Audio Stack (red rocker switch).

5. Remove the additional cable where you attached it to the J-Tech splitter at the red dot. Replace the cable that was originally attached there.

6.  Disconnect your laptop and charger. Store the additional cable and the remote with your laptop.