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Rockford is launching a pair of digital audio players at Consumer Electronics Show this week that simplify transferring ripped or downloaded audio to a car audio system or home stereo.

The proliferation of digital audio has changed the way many people listen to music. CD ripping (copying songs from CDs into a digital file on a PC's hard disk) and music downloading have become commonplace, and this has made the PC a center for music storage. But not everyone wants to listen to music while sitting in front of a PC. Some prefer to use their home stereo system or their car's audio system.

Rockford's new Omnifi system links a stereo system or car audio directly to a PC via a wireless LAN link, also known as Wi-Fi.

This works in two ways, depending on the application. At home, where stereo systems are usually fixed and therefore always within range of the wireless network, a home receiver unit offers access to the PC and to the digital music files stored on its hard drive. The home receiver also supports access to broadcasts streamed over the Internet. Partners for this service include AOL Shoutcast, Gracenote, Live 365, Muze, Pinnacor, Tower.com, Virgin Radio, and Yahoo Launch.

A Digital Dashboard

The automobile system is slightly different because the receiver quickly goes out of range of the wireless network when the user drives the car away from the house. To circumvent this problem, the auto unit carries a 20GB hard drive on which data can be stored. A control panel, which fits in a standard in-car audio slot in the dashboard, enables the user to control the system.

The software side of the system, called Simple Center, was designed by San Mateo-based SimpleDevices. It runs on the PC and handles the transfer of audio to the Omnifi devices. Simple Center can be set to automatically transfer files dropped into a particular hard disk directory to the car's storage unit, and it can even record an Internet broadcast and transfer it to the car at a set time each day. For example, the software can capture the morning stocks report and news at 6 a.m. and send it as a file to the car in time for a 6:30 a.m. commute.

The Omnifi system will be available starting in April. The automobile unit will cost around $600, while the home stereo unit with wireless LAN receiver will run about $400.

The software is already offered in a product from Motorola. Its Simplifi unit permits users to stream live Internet broadcasts or stored media from their home PC to existing hi-fi equipment; it was on display at CES in 2002.

CES runs from Thursday until Sunday in Las Vegas.

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