Computer->home audio...Can I do this?

[ottsville]

I want to hook up my computer to my home audio system. I will probably hardwire vs using a wifi device due to the location of my computer and stereo.

What I would like to know, is can I set my computer to start Itunes at a certain time and have it play a certain playlist? Say I want to wake up to a selection of mellow music...will it do that? Is there a media player that is capable of that?