[Aaron Fude]

Hi,

I'm looking for an alternative to plugging my mp3 player in a preamp.

What I would like to have a standalone mp3 player with comfortable
size controls, a large comfortable display and enough space to house
all my songs.

Hopefully it can also act as a preamp. And ideally there is a version
that can be completely tucked away, for example an in-wall version or
a flat-panel version.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[Chris Hornbeck]

On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:47:04 -0700 (PDT), Aaron Fude
wrote:

I'm looking for an alternative to plugging my mp3 player in a preamp.

What I would like to have a standalone mp3 player with comfortable
size controls, a large comfortable display and enough space to house
all my songs.

Hopefully it can also act as a preamp. And ideally there is a version
that can be completely tucked away, for example an in-wall version or
a flat-panel version.

Any suggestions?

Sure, it's a Windows Media Player. Well-and-purpose-designed
versions are now hitting the market. My favorite uses X-box
360's as clients.

Never thought I'd be a person saying this, but it works.
Sony sells $150 streaming video RF remote controls that
work with it. It's a brave new world.

There's also Crestron, if you've got the dough-re-mi.

All good fortune,
Chris Hornbeck

[Earl Kiosterud]

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm looking for an alternative to plugging my mp3 player in a preamp.

What I would like to have a standalone mp3 player with comfortable
size controls, a large comfortable display and enough space to house
all my songs.

Hopefully it can also act as a preamp. And ideally there is a version
that can be completely tucked away, for example an in-wall version or
a flat-panel version.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

This might not be your thing, but if you want to roll your own, get a µmp3 card (about
$100). You put an SD or MMC card in it with wav or mp3 files, and it plays them with high
quality. It has audio output for line level or headphones. It runs on 5 Volts. It's made
by Rogue Robotics (Canada), and sold in the US by hobbyengineering.com. It's about 2" x 3".
You could integrate it into a preamp or anything else where there's room for it. One caveat
is that the files have to have prescribed names. Or you could use its async port through
which you can command it to play, read and write files on the card, so you could rig up a
little processor board to control it, which could have a display for the files it sees on
the card, etc. It'd be pretty cool.
--
Earl

[Dave]

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm looking for an alternative to plugging my mp3 player in a preamp.

What I would like to have a standalone mp3 player with comfortable
size controls, a large comfortable display and enough space to house
all my songs.

Hopefully it can also act as a preamp. And ideally there is a version
that can be completely tucked away, for example an in-wall version or
a flat-panel version.

Probably off-topic a bit, but I'm looking for sort of the same thing... I
have an iMac with 5,000 songs on it in my office, and a great sound system
in the living room. I've toyed with a 50-ft toslink cable and an optical
switch as I am currently using a high-end external DAC... there doesn't
appear to be an analog line level output on the mac and even if there were,
it's getting on towards too long of a run, i.e. cable capacitance. But then
I'm drilling (more) holes in the floor, there are more switches that I have
to teach my wife how to use, and I have to go to the office every time I
want to choose music.

The iMac does bluetooth and wireless ethernet. I know I could get a
squeezebox, but have heard about alternative solutions that might let my
bluetooth blackberry act as a remote control for some jukebox software... I
will note that I don't have 150 hours to build and implement some home-grown
solution such as a dedicated linux music server and an industrial wi-fi
card/DAC at the pre-amp end. It probably works great but I have a limited
amount of free time with two kids under age 10.

I also don't want to spend a fortune. Boy, I'm sounding like a tough
customer.

Does anybody have any insight into what's available, or at least where I
might look for an overview on this issue?

thx

Dave

[Chris Hornbeck]

On Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:44:47 GMT, "Dave" wrote:

Does anybody have any insight into what's available, or at least where I
might look for an overview on this issue?

Tap. Tap. Tap. Is this thing on?

Windows Media Player / XBOX360 clients / Sony wireless streaming
remote controls.

[Dave]

"Chris Hornbeck" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:44:47 GMT, "Dave" wrote:

Does anybody have any insight into what's available, or at least where I
might look for an overview on this issue?

Tap. Tap. Tap. Is this thing on?

Windows Media Player / XBOX360 clients / Sony wireless streaming
remote controls.

_____________
Yes Chris, you are | ON THE AIR |
--------------

I read your post. I'd probably buy a SqueezeBox before an XBox, as I have
young kids in the house and they haven't been bitten by the video game bug
yet... but it's coming... it's also not a particularly inexpensive solution
but then I guess one might say you get what you pay for... does the Xbox
have a screen of some sort on the remote control so I could see what I'm
listening to without having the TV on all the time?

Thx

Dave

[Chris Hornbeck]

On Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:32:56 GMT, "Dave" wrote:

I'd probably buy a SqueezeBox before an XBox, as I have
young kids in the house and they haven't been bitten by the video game bug
yet... but it's coming... it's also not a particularly inexpensive solution
but then I guess one might say you get what you pay for... does the Xbox
have a screen of some sort on the remote control so I could see what I'm
listening to without having the TV on all the time?

If you knew me you'd think it very strange that I'd be
promoting this contraption - I probably last played a
video game sometime in the Carter administration, and
I wouldn't ever use an A/V streaming system in my own
home. Very old school.

But my day-gig is installation and configuration of all
kinds of (mostly home) audio and video. Hang TV's on the
wall, lighting, custom remote controls, like that. We also
do Crestron systems for those with the ability to sign
appropriately large checks, and they're wonderful. Out
of the financial reach of most of us. Worth it, but.


I've been sold very recently on the "obverse" point-of-
view, the Windows Media Player paradigm (hate that word - sorry)
of a generic server and inexpensive mass-market clients
and remote controls. It's a big change of perspective,
and has obvious penalties in a retail environment. (How
can you support something that runs in Windows? - Gimme
a friggin break.)

The key for a successful retail installation is a robust
server that can't easily be shifted down into Windows itself
and used for web surfing.


If you were to adopt this strategy, you'd have to likewise
armor your server from other uses. Don't even think about
doing anything else. No, I mean it. No, I'm really not
kidding - and you guys in the back of the room Sit Down
Right Now or I'll be forced to call your parents.

It works like this: your Windows Media Player server gets
a solid Internet connection and is also fed from a DVD
multi-disc player. All CD's are stored on the server's HD's
(RAID'ed as appropriate) and all DVD's are played as
needed from the multi-player. Internet stuff is all served
by the server, duh. Ethernet between the server and clients.
(My strong recommendation is a separate ethernet network
for streaming video, but you might get lucky just jumping on.
Or not.)

Each room has a client, most affordably an XBOX360, and Sony
makes a streaming video remote control for the XBOX for $150
that will just knock you socks off.


The best part of this strange contraption is that those who
have teenagers have in-house tech support. Arf!


All good fortune,
Chris Hornbeck

[Dave]

"Chris Hornbeck" wrote in message
...

If you knew me you'd think it very strange that I'd be
promoting this contraption - I probably last played a
video game sometime in the Carter administration, and
I wouldn't ever use an A/V streaming system in my own
home. Very old school.

In a previous life my title was "Senior UNIX Network Engineer" for a large
telcom; anyone who knew me thought that it was hilarious, because I am, in
large part, anti-technology or, more accurately, anti-misuse-of-technology.
I really don't think that video gaming has contributed ANYTHING to society.
I don't think it's beneficial to a generation to be umbilically connected to
your 3G phone or computer, and I think social networking is sad sad
substitute for actually living life. I probably sound about like my parents
did talking about rock 'n roll and television.


But my day-gig is installation and configuration of all
kinds of (mostly home) audio and video. Hang TV's on the
wall, lighting, custom remote controls, like that. We also
do Crestron systems for those with the ability to sign
appropriately large checks, and they're wonderful. Out
of the financial reach of most of us. Worth it, but.


My brother-in-law does high-end renovation/rebuild work, mainly kitchens, in
Marin County California... San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausolito. Some of the
houses are total renovations down to the studs and no expense, I mean NO
EXPENSE, is spared, so I've seen the creston screens in action. They are
pretty cool I must say. That is NOT a misuse of technology.




If you were to adopt this strategy, you'd have to likewise
armor your server from other uses. Don't even think about
doing anything else. No, I mean it. No, I'm really not
kidding - and you guys in the back of the room Sit Down
Right Now or I'll be forced to call your parents.


It really is too bad that Windows can't do more than one thing at a time.
My background is in UNIX/Linux, you know, machines that might crash once
every other year which can serve mail, run complex database applications,
act as a competent firewall, and service dozens of user sessions AT THE SAME
TIME.

It works like this: your Windows Media Player server gets
a solid Internet connection and is also fed from a DVD
multi-disc player. All CD's are stored on the server's HD's
(RAID'ed as appropriate) and all DVD's are played as
needed from the multi-player. Internet stuff is all served
by the server, duh. Ethernet between the server and clients.
(My strong recommendation is a separate ethernet network
for streaming video, but you might get lucky just jumping on.
Or not.)

Each room has a client, most affordably an XBOX360, and Sony
makes a streaming video remote control for the XBOX for $150
that will just knock you socks off.



I'm not averse to the idea, it's definitely do-able, but it's a fair amount
of additional hardware. I'd want it all to run wirelessly given that I've
got plaster walls in my 60+ year-old house and running CAT-5 everywhere is a
bitch. I have only negative things to say about mainstream household
wireless access points / routers having worked with the likes of D-Link and
Linksys extensively over the years... they are just not robust and crash and
burn with heavy traffic. They also have no provision for QoS traffic
management, a feature which all telcoms use when implementing streaming
anything. So a Cisco router would be in order for reliable robust wireless.
Plus the Xbox. Plus the remote control. Plus another computer churning
away someplace under a desk.

You talked about the viability of a Microsoft solution to a
reseller/installer such as yourself, but I believe there's a killing to be
made here. Everybody wants what you describe, but they don't want to hassle
with setting up and armouring a dedicated server, the wiring, the protocols,
the extra xboxes which provide way more functionality than is required. I
think Apple tried it with a box which sat next to the TV hosting movies and
music and maybe some other stuff, and Microsoft has tried with their
entertainment server, but eventually someone will come up with something
that works. That can be controlled by any bluetooth phone or pda. That you
plug into your wall, your stereo, and it just works. Maybe the world isn't
QUITE ready for it, but it's definitely coming.

I heard of a bluetooth device under devlopment by RIM, the makers of
blackberries. It's a small bluetooth receiver and DAC which has analog outs
to your amplifier. You set up a computer to stream music via bluetooth, and
control it with your blackberry. I don't think it's available yet, but I
look forward to seeing it.

Dave

[Chris Hornbeck]

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:15:31 GMT, "Dave" wrote:

I don't think it's beneficial to a generation to be umbilically connected to
your 3G phone or computer, and I think social networking is sad sad
substitute for actually living life. I probably sound about like my parents
did talking about rock 'n roll and television.

Arf! Fortunately we'll be dead soon, and the world can go on.
To wherever.


So a Cisco router would be in order for reliable robust wireless.

I hear this from lotsa serious people. For wired too. I'm about to
find out for myself the hard way. Wish me luck...


You talked about the viability of a Microsoft solution to a
reseller/installer such as yourself, but I believe there's a killing to be
made here. Everybody wants what you describe, but they don't want to hassle
with setting up and armouring a dedicated server, the wiring, the protocols,
the extra xboxes which provide way more functionality than is required.

Yeah, we're going to be installing a (family of) server box(es) made
by a new outfit called Fluid Digital Media. Website:

http://fluiddigitalmedia.com/

They package very nicely thunk-up and attractive Intel/Windows
MediaServer boxes, very quiet and robust, beautiful and clever
work, but fundamentally a (really nice) Windows Vista computer,
armored as possible against the frailties of computing.

For a retail product, they're ridiculously inexpensive, and we
won't even be selling the clients or the remote controls. Just
the server and a lot of install work - such is modern life in
this old gig. Beats roofin' or plumbin' - just not as much money.

For a dedicated homebrewer, this really looks like a fun way
to go. But we homebrewers will have our opinions...

I heard of a bluetooth device under devlopment by RIM, the makers of
blackberries. It's a small bluetooth receiver and DAC which has analog outs
to your amplifier. You set up a computer to stream music via bluetooth, and
control it with your blackberry. I don't think it's available yet, but I
look forward to seeing it.

Packet-data stuff just scares me. Call me a fuddy-duddy, just
don't call me late for dinner. Oh, wait, ethernet is....

Nevermind.


Much thanks, as always,
Chris Hornbeck