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Turtle Beach Network Audio Appliance
Polo writes: "I always though it would be cool to create something like this. Here is a look at the 'Audiotron,'
a standalone device you hook to your stereo system and that networks
with your PC to play MP3 files. This version uses that strange HPNA
network standard (sends network data over copper phone wiring without
interfering with the phone calls). Future versions will support
ethernet and USB. Now if someone got this working with Linux, you could serve your MP3 library to multiple rooms in the house as separate streams. Obsolesence nears for my 200-disk CD changers ... " Hmm. What happens if you already have HPNA networking? That aside, this looks like a good toy for the MPAA as well.
Creative Labs did a piss-poor job of quality control on the SB cards pretty much up until the Live! series (which are finally pretty good). I'd suggest you find some other card which you can squeeze linux/windows support out of, if you're going with a PC based mp3 player.
Trees can't go dancing
So do them a big favor
Pretend dancing stinks!
Try the preceding few sentences:
Computers and general-purpose computer peripheral devices are not covered by the Audio Home Recording Act. This means they do not pay royalties and they do not incorporate technology to prevent serial copying. As a result, this also means that copying music onto a computer hard drive is not permitted. It is copyright infringement, and a violation of federal law.
How much more straight-forward can this be?
If you read http://www.riaa.com/tech/tech_ht.htm, you will also see it says in a couple of places that you are only allowed to make digital copies of music for your own use with certain devices.
No PC CD-R drives for mixed CDs, no MP3s, just people who make copying hardware (read: audio CD-R) that have paid a royalty to RIAA.
Do you even know anything about perl? -- AC Replying to Tom Christiansen post.
Computers and general-purpose computer peripheral devices are not covered by the Audio Home Recording Act. This means they do not pay royalties and they do not incorporate technology to prevent serial copying. As a result, this also means that copying music onto a computer hard drive is not permitted. It is copyright infringement, and a violation of federal law. This is true whether the source being copied is analog or digital; whether you are copying an entire album or just one song or even part of a song; or whether you are making a compilation of songs from albums you already own. The same holds true for copying music off the Internet. [Emphasis is mine]
Si vis pacem, para bellum
The only thing more annoying than a Libertarian is an (un|mis)informed Libertarian
last week as a matter of fact. it's a little uh unrefined at the moment, just a motherboard, a network card, an awe64 and a pair of elderly hard drives. Sits in the entertainment center under the rest of my stereo stuff, and plugs right into the reciever. It's running Linux and NFS mounts the shared MP3 directory and cdrom on my main file server. The primary interface is a cheesy little Perl/CGI script I hacked together that scans the directory and lets you select whatever songs you want, then passes that list to mpg123 and off we go! it's real basic and I have no playback control and whenever mpg123 hits a mp3 with errors it vomits and I have to reload the script, but it sounds great and I put it together out of spare parts. I've seen nicer jukebox programs on freshmeat before I'll eventually get one of them installed.
;->) but the best feature IMO is that it didn't cost anything.
It's been a fun project to work on and I've got alot of improvements (like building an actual case for it
"Listen: We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different!" - Kurt Vonnegut
_______
2B1ASK1
http://www.lansonic.com/
They have a much slicker device, uses Ethernet, has multiple digital and analog inputs, digital and analog output, internal HD, and works with the Windows "Network Neighborhood" Presumably, you could use Samba to get it to work with Linux.
Downside is that it's $995. :(
Pentium 100MHz, Redhat 6.2, and about 70 gigs of online storage. Dirt cheap, and should hold about 550+ CD's at 256-bit MP3. We wrote a web-based front-end in PHP that lets you select tracks, shuffle, play, stop, skip, and so forth... Then you just connect the sound card to the stereo, and the 10bt to the hub, and you're good to go.
It's nice in our office environment; no one has to get out of their chair to put on a CD, it would be possible to implement various voting/banning/profiling systems, and, best of all, you don't have to worry about office mates absent-mindedly using your CDs as coasters. ;)
We're on the road to Tycho.
How could it be? It is a device that allows the *playback* of MP3 files. It has nothing to do with recording MP3s.
99%+ of the MP3s in existance out there are created by ripping the mp3 track from a CD. On a home computer. RIAA says this is illegal, plain and simple. That means using this thing is probably illegal too, according to RIAA.
I think that RIAA can get stuffed - fair use should extend to me being allowed to make personal copies of digital music (CDs) for my own personal use, on whatever device I choose.
If I decide to put said copies up on an FTP site, then they might have something to complain about. But for my own personal use? Get with the program.
Do you even know anything about perl? -- AC Replying to Tom Christiansen post.
Huh? You mean they forgot to take into account that huge fraction of the population that don't have phone lines in their home? Give me a break. You'd have to custom build a house today to NOT get RJ11 wiring.
HomePNA is going to be THE standard way of networking devices in homes inside of the next couple years. It works in all existing homes, doesn't need a hub, is a no-brainer to set up, and is fast enough (10Mb) for anything outside of corporate networking requirements.
I've been networking computers for years, and recently installed this for my home network instead of twisted pair. I did it because wiring my house would have been a pain in the ass, but I'd recommend it now for anyone else.
You can expect cable modems to be shipping with built in HPNA support this year.
I think the reason Timothy posted it, and if you noticed his added comments at the bottom, is that:
/is/ kinda appealing
/I/ think :)
1) It is cool tech, the idea of streaming MP3s through your phone line without itnterfering
2) And this is the important one, It's ANOTHER unlicesened, promoting copying, evil evil thing that the RIAA has to worry about. Another case of bop the mole. This is, IMHO, a good thing, the more MP3 hardware that comes out, the bigger an industry that will be built around it and the harder time the RIAA will have not looking like idiots.
At least that's what
And if had bothered to look at the link I provided, you'd see that RIAA thinks that making MP3s from your own CDs is illegal, even if it is for your own use.
Do you even know anything about perl? -- AC Replying to Tom Christiansen post.
I'm not sure if an icecast type package is even necessary. I stream mp3s here between two computers by simply doing:
cat lala.mp3 | nc yy.yy.yy.yy xxxx
on one, and
nc -lp xxxx | mpg123 -
on the other. And nc can do udp, so you could probably just use a local multicast or something for more then one player.
-
We cannot reason ourselves out of our basic irrationality. All we can do is learn the art of being irrational in a reasonable way.
I figure a small one or two unit rack mount box would be super... as quiet as possible. For maximum control a TV out and wireless keyboard/mouse would allow maximum playlist creation and navigation, as well as EQ setting. 100mb ethernet is a must, and for maximum sound fidelity I'd probably go with a SB Live. I REALLY REALLY want to use Linux, I think this could be very doable with a 200 Mhz PI-MMX or equivalent. Running XMMS at 640x480 would be a decent display. Choosing between multiple playlists? Adding files to playlists? Maybe there isn't a real easy to use (and pretty) app to do it, but it could easily be done a desktop machine and stored on the server with the mp3s. GMC for picking playlists?
If I really wanted to get fancy I could hook up an IR port and even a backlit LED for videoless operation.
This is doable... I guess I really just need to start with the hardware... all of the software already exists, and if any pieces are missing I'm sure I can glue some stuff together.
So help me out, guys! Where can I find a decent THIN rack case that has room for at 3 expansion slots and can fit an AT motherboard?
Moe
I got stuck with one of those cards (came with a Dell) too. Fortunately, in the "better late then never department":
linux.aureal.com
It still doesn't support all of the nifty features, but it works just fine with my Turtle Beach Montego (RH 6.1 stock kernel).
Do you even know anything about perl? -- AC Replying to Tom Christiansen post.
It seems that these two legal decisions are in conflict. The RIAA states:
Computers and general-purpose computer peripheral devices are not covered by the Audio Home Recording Act. This means they do not pay royalties and they do not incorporate technology to prevent serial copying. As a result, this also means that copying music onto a computer hard drive is not permitted. It is copyright infringement, and a violation of federal law.
At the same time, we have the EFF stating:
The fair use doctrine allows an individual to make a copy of their lawfully obtained copyrighted work for their own personal use. Allowing people to make a copy of copyrighted music for their personal use provides for enhanced consumer convenience through legitimate and lawful copying. ... As new media present new ways for people to enjoy music, the public's fair use rights accompany them into the electronic frontier. Now, music fans have the right and ability to copy their own music collection onto their own computer storage device and create customized play lists for their own personal use and enjoyment of their music.
IANAL. Which "law" applies to me?
None of you people who are complaining about the lack of ethernet have read all of the press releases on the site! One of them talks about an ethernet plugin module being available for people who have their house wired for ethernet.
Hmm...time for a hub in the livingroom...
-Pete
Soccer Goal Plans
My 20mhz Sun Sparc can handle decoding MP3s if I use the JointStereo option (Not like a Sun SpeakerBox is stereo, anyhoo) of mpg123.
Why hasn't someone hacked the RIAA site yet with some slogan like "Making sure you can't do jack unless we stand to make a buck"???
We sort of do this at work already, with a shoutcast server sending streams in office on demand. I'm curious as to how much this device costs, tho. would it really be cost effective to put a unit in every room of those house and have the streams tho? by the same token, you could just setup a low power pentium system with a decent soundcard and a nic and run shoutcast or icecast(if icecast does on demand streams, that is... i haven't checked into that) server on a more powerful system (which it looks like you need for this device anyway). A home built unit could probably be made for a few hundred dollars... and there are a lot of car/home mp3 player software packages that work with mpg123 and the like that could probably be easily modified to work with an on demand streaming server.
---
/bin/fortune | slashdotsig.sh
Once again you underestimate RIAA. The have sued Diamond Multimedia for the Rio. How could that be? Simple - according to RIAA, these devices aid in the copyright infringement.
Do you even know anything about perl? -- AC Replying to Tom Christiansen post.
Remember, if you want to listen to "your" music in different rooms... you had just better go out and buy 2 CDs. l
Don't get me wrong, I think this is a GREAT idea...Now I can use a server program versus an entire computer to do my music serving for me...but this company needed to think about the clinetel it is trying to reach with this device. Most of us (I speak of the nerds that read /. and would buy this) use an ethernet network off of cable or DSL or a LAN or something like that. I personally don't have a telephone system in my house. (You think I'm kidding, I'm not...I use a cell phone for calls.) I would LOVE to have one of these if it did come with some type of RJ45 connector.
I think this is a great idea, I'll just drop a couple of RJ11s in the wall for this...they just should have thought things through a little better as far as WHO is going to buy this and WHAT they are going to want to use!
(hee hee, check eBay in about a week for my 200+1 Sony CD changer.... =) )
~Animgif
------ This has been provided as a public service! ------
anyone else remember a time when the phone company said that 9600 was the highest that anyone could ever expect over home copper? And now, here we are pushing home LAN style bandwidth over that same copper. Yes I know, YMMV, I just find it ironic.
...and the geek shall inherit the earth...
www.linux-skunkworks.com
Take a look at the press release off of the website, it specifically states:
"users will experience no interference with normal phone calls or DSL Internet connections."
I don't think it interferes. IIRC, POTS is 0 to 4kHz, xDSL is 30kHz to 1.5M Hz and HomePNA is 5.5M Hz to 9.5M Hz.
That info is from a presentation on AMDtek's website about their Pegasus chip, which is in the 10/100 ethernet adapters and also does HomePNA.
-- IANAEG - I am not an elder god.
"(sends network data over copper phone wiring without interfering with the phone calls). ". This sounds a lot like DSL/ADSL in that it sends the data down the line at frequencies outside the normal hearing range. British telecomm use a similar system in their Home-highway and cheap second line products (I don't know if there is equivalent technology being used in the US). Does anyone know if the HP system will interfere with these other technologies, besides am I thought all you guys had wired your houses for Ethernet as well. :-)
I've been toying with a design for something like this. In my design, you can have a tiny little pin with a transmitter in it. There are sensors, networked to your PC through some means, scattered throughout your house that measure the strength of the signal from your transmitter, and tell your PC to send a proportional volume of your music to the speakers. Sort of Gates-esque. The music would follow you around, so from your point of view the volume would be fairly constant.
Many people forget that a house is normally wired with 4 conductor phone line ( green - red | black - yellow ) If you make sure that the black and yellow are connected in all the boxes, and the junction boxes in your house you can effectively have an additional private circut in your house. This is especially useful if you do have to deal with something propritary here. Another fact that most people forget is that RJ-45 is 8 conductor, where orange, orange-white, blue, and blue-white are used, so it is again possible to run an additional ethernet line through the same cable, or as I have done in the past put two analog phone lines down with the ethernet signal. In theory you may run into problems with induction fields, but I have never had a problem. You can also do other useful things, like use the black and yellow wires to run a mono feed of mp3s from your computer to your stereo.
I'd imagine that lawsuits will follow for all of these companies, since according to RIAA the only way you can have a legit mp3 is if that was the original format that it was distributed in, or if it is the public domain.
Of course, RIAA may or may not have heard of something called fair use.
Do you even know anything about perl? -- AC Replying to Tom Christiansen post.
I'm planning to hook it up to my stereo, have it networked with my other systems via a USB ethernet adapter, and running Linux. Using the CGI client for MP3 Server Box I'll even be able to control the music from any system in my house.
Since the system will be in the family room, I plan to have a photo-slide show running as the screen saver.
What's the difference between this and using phone lines or FM radio? With the HPNA interface you're effectively in a 10Base based network, sending the digital form of the data (music) rather that converting to analog and transmitting. It should be a higher quality output at the far end.
What's the diff between using HPNA and your existing network. Not much, unless you're like most of the general computer using public who don't have cat5 throughout their house but can string phone line.
- Kerbango
- Lansonic
- iRad
The Lansonic device is almost the same as the audiotron, the other two are more standalone radio-type things.--
http://gammatron.weblogger.com
What interesting tidbits the previously linked page presents!
As a general rule for CD-Rs, if the CD-R recorder is
a stand-alone machine designed to copy primarily audio, rather than data or video, then the copying is allowed. If the CD-R recorder is a computer component, or a computer peripheral device designed to be a multi-purpose recorder (in other words, if it will record data and video as well as audio), then copying is not allowed.
This is remarkable. The fact that my CD-R has the capability to record data and video makes it illegal to use it to copy CDs. However, a completely identical copy, created by a CD-R without the ability to record data and video, is illegal.
But of course the RIAA has a perfectly understandable explanation for all this!
Under the Audio Home Recording Act, the manufacturers of some types of digital recorders pay a modest royalty to partially compensate the artists, record companies and music publishers hurt through unauthorized copying.
I see. So every time I buy a component-based CD-R, I'm putting money in the RIAA's pocket. In that case, if I've already paid them royalties because they assume I'll make illegal copies of CD's, I might as well have something to show for the royalties I've paid. Anything less would shatter the RIAA's implicit expectations.
These devices also incorporate technology to prevent what is known as serial copying, that is, second and higher generation copies.
Great, so now if my original is scratched beyond repair, my backup is useless to create further backups.
The RIAA's message is clear: we'll grant you the "privilege" of fair use, but only on our terms. Read it and weep, because there's nothing you can do about it.
I mean, why would anyone want to be any room other than the room with the Linux box? There's no point.
I know a lot of people who already have digital music connections from their PC to their stereos, but the concept of running it through existing copper connections is a good one.
A friend of mine just ordered one of Yamaha's PC Home Theater boxes. It looks pretty neat: it connects via USB and has multiple outputs. But It only comes with software for Win9x.
I had a question that mabye some one can answer for me, I have just recently been lookinginto Bluetooth, and was wondering can it just transmit data or can it also transmit audio streams (and mabye video)? that's what I need a wireless house. No Phone lines, no cable lines, no extra audio cables. Perfect.
flatrabbit,
peripheral visionary
"Never wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty and the pig likes it."
Cost of one Audiotron: $499.00
Cost of a 486 with a cheap NIC, SoundBlaster 16, some RCA cables and a 50 foot Cat 5: $80.00
One requires a proprietary driver and takes orders from Winblows 2K.
The other peacefully coexists with other machines on your network, is accessable from a variety of platforms instead of just one, can be upgraded, repaired if necessary, and replaced easilly. Did I mention it runs Linux, can perform more functions than simply an MP3 server, and can download new MP3's while you sleep?
Bowie J. Poag
Bowie J. Poag
Unless you get two of these things, you might be better off with a good FM transmitter. Just make sure there's a spot of your FM dial that's blank. You can build one yourself or get a cheap one. All Electronics has a little battery powered one that has a jack for plugging into your sound card for about $15, and runs on AAAs. If you have multiple boxes that can handle MP3 or some other format, and have enough empty space on the dial, you can have a transmitter for each, and select a "stream" by tuning the dial. And since all of the stuff would be under one roof, the signal should be plenty strong.
:) Well, as long as you use a good filter to kill harmonics, which is the way most pirates get busted. The harmonics from the signal bleed over police/fire channels, which doesn't make them too happy. Then the FCC looks for ya....
Then again, maybe copper wire could produce better sound than radio waves?
Hey, what the hell. Boost up the signal and make your own pirate station!
Thanks to Rev. Null for this tip, go to Customise Comments and save the page as HTML. Find the FORM tag and change the action to point to http://slashdot.org/users.pl, and then look down for the "SELECT name=uthreshold" tag. Under that, find the "OPTION selected value=-1" tag and change the -1 to a -5.
Save the page, load it in your browser, set your threshold to -1 in the list and submit it. Lo and behold, you can now see comments all the way down to -5. The /. censorhip is defeated :)
Does this thing play dvds too? I think you mean RIAA.
X10, the makers of the great home-automation products, already sell a wireless version of something similar. Specifically, it is merely an audio sender/receiver that can plug into the back of your stereo. They market it as "MP3-Anywhere", but could obviously be used for anything. For the windows users in the crowd, it comes with plugin's for some of the popular mp3 players so you can control it remotely using an X10 remote as well.
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