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Hardware Review: Rio Receiver
Props to Robo for testing the Windows stuff for me, and CowboyNeal for testing it with the Rio Central. They wrote much of this review. I just cleaned it up and took credit for it.
The Rio Reciever doesn't bother with ripping CDs or creating MP3 files of its own, it streams them from either a Rio Central, or a Windows box with their software installed. Either method allows you to setup playlists which are then accessed from the Rio Reciever.
Hooking speakers up to the receiver is easy. It has bare wire outputs for going directly to speakers, RCA outputs for use in a stereo rack, and a plain old headphone out that's suitable for most powered PC speakers. That's a lot of outputs, but it means that it's easy to use in a variety of situations, which is exactly what you want out of a device like this.
The reciever can reach its source through either an HPNA jack, or an ethernet jack. Hooking up the Rio Reciever via ethernet was fairly simple, provided a compatible server is already on the same subnet. The receiver finds an available IP address- although it seemed to ignore our DHCP server and actually took our routers IP once! This isn't a fatal flaw, but you may wanna double check when you set this thing up to make sure you don't get any surprises.
The interface on the front of the box takes a little getting used to. Menu items are selected from menus by a large dial, and confirmed by pushing the dial. (which also functions as a large button) While compact, I found that all too often I'd accidentally push the dial in while trying to turn it. Eventually I had to give up and stick with the remote control which didn't have that problem.
Unfortunately, while the interface isn't bad, it's not great either. Given the sheer number of MP3s available to play, navigating through a huge list with just a dial isn't fun. If you've put the time into make playlists using either the Windows software or the Rio Central, then this is much easier. Of course you can search search on artist, album, genre, etc., but it gets more and more difficult as your MP3 collection gets larger.
The screen on the receiver leaves a lot to be desired. Unless it's at eye level at a distance of six feet or less, don't bother trying to read it. Luckily once the player is rolling, there's little reason to bother looking at it. When first installing, I got a neck ache from trying to read it while it sat on my desk, but once up and running, I became oblivious to it.
The Win98 software is very bare bones, but does what it's supposed to: import music. After installing the software and turning on the receiver, I was able to import both MP3 and WMA files.
The functionality of the Rio Receiver does not change between the Rio Central and a Win98 Machine, so for those who already own a windows PC, they can possibly save themselves the $1500 cost of a Rio Central. The Rio Receiver is priced around $170, and a couple discount places have already had them priced around $100, making it very feasible for the home audio enthusiast who has a large music collection on his computer to pop these small boxes around your home or office, letting you share your music wherever you want it.
The SliMP3 is less polished, but is fed with a simple perl program that streams audio. The Audiotron is fed with any Samba compatible server. In other words, either device can work with a Linux box. The Rio currently can't, but it is the only one that doesn't require an external amp to hook it up to speakers, making it the best choice for simple multizone applications. And it's priced a hundred bucks less!
All in all, this is a pretty neat device. I wish it had more ways to stream MP3s to it, since buying the costly Rio Central or converting my MP3 server to Windows aren't things I'd consider at this point, but for a lot of users I imagine the Windows software will be enough. Unlike many MP3 units, this one is priced reasonably. The variety of input and output options mean this thing can work for people who just want to get their MP3s into a stereo component, as well as for people wanting to create a nice multizone audio system in their house without needing a second mortgage.
Props to Robo for testing the Windows stuff for me, and CowboyNeal for testing it with the Rio Central
How about getting Robo to test the "IE" bug fix that has already been given to Jamie?
First Pog!
Pogfressionals steal pogs from newbies.
pogmeister
*cmdrtaco* - i uhh...wrote that review for yah
*sonicblue* - thanks, here's the uhh...purple monkey dishwasher (segway)
*cmdrtaco* - schweeet.
there are lots of MP3 players around, but when are we going to get MP3 recorders a lá recordable portable minidisc?
I bet someone comes up with a way to get this thing to listen to linux, or shoutcast, or mac. I doubt it will be win only for long...
sulli
RTFJ.
The meek shall inherit the Earth, and the TrOlLs shall inherit the meet and reign supreme.
SonicBlue is made out of people!
You have just received the Amish Virus!
Since we do not have electricity or computers,
you are on the HONOR SYSTEM!
Please delete ALL of your files....
Thank Thee.
Alan Thicke's Journal
My Slashdot ads say "
sounds like a pos to me. shouldn't a geek just make one of these(but better) out spare equipment?
When can I get one of these that can access my 802.11b network? I didn't feel like running ethernet all over my house, and I don't have a phone jack near my audio system. Considering the influx of consumer level wireless gateways, I would think there would be a large market for something like this.
How did msgeek kill the wipo troll?
Reminds me of those things that are being sold as an email, file, firewall, server in a box. When actually all it is, is a computer with locked down limited use. Why would I need to hook up another device that requires my PC to work to begin with?
Across the room, the dancer danced. I saw her. Men swarmed around her, queueing up to distribute their dollar bills. I trotted towards the dancer, paying careful attention to the protocol that governed the dancer/patron interaction.
As I gazed at the rapidly blinking lights, I began to experience a stabbing sensation in my temple. The pain was excruciating, and I collapsed to one knee as the following message scrolled past my CONSCIOUSNESS-BUFFER:
The pain continued in short jolts, and the body continued to move towards the dancer. Suddenly, I realized that it was not me who was urging the body forward. Yet it continued to move at breakneck speed towards the dancer. I saw her mouth open wide as both of Atkins' hands reached out and grasped her breasts. But I felt nothing, as it seemed that sensation had left me. Angry noises swirled around me, and feeling slowly returned.
The floor was damp and cold on the side of my cheek and a warm, dull pain was running through my back. Someone was sitting on me.
"Sir, sir, are you listening?" I could move again-I struggled to right myself. "Sir, I am going to let you up, and you are leaving this establishment. You leave right away, or we are calling the cops."
"Get up!" the person sitting on my back finally relented, and I stood up, trying to turn around, but he gripped my arms tightly and continued to push me towards the door.
"-a mistake! He didn't know! He's a foreigner!" another voice-this one was Krantz. He did not seem happy. "Hey! He's Canadian!" The grip on my arm relaxed a bit. I breathed and scanned myself for errant processes. I could determine nothing unusual on the digital side of my consciousness. What had happened to me? I craned my next to see Mr. Krantz, who seemed to be on the losing end of a conversation with the man who was trying to eject me.
"-I'm sorry sir, your friend is gonna have to learn a little more respect before we let him back in here." With that, the man gave me one final shove through the door. A sweaty Krantz followed me out, gasping his hot breath into the chill night air.
"What happened to you in there?" Krantz puffed. His arms shifted into place, making an odd humming sound. "We were supposed to be having a carefree, hedonistic romp!" I was unable to answer. Krantz turned away momentarily, as if he were searching for something his jacket.
"I didn't want to do this already, but..."
I was unable to hear the end of this sentence, because after hearing a dull metallic thud, I suddenly lost contact with the body as of 16:43:04 CST.
Unable to access the body's senses, I waited in limbo until 17:35:47 CST, when I began to hear faint noises, as if they were coming through a wall. The noise became clearer and more distinct...it was a familiar voice. Krantz's. He was muttering something over the phone, as my heavy lids drew up and the blurs converged to form his back. I visually scanned the area-a bed, chair, small table, loud air conditioner-drawing it against my reserves of human data, I concluded that it was some sort of motel.
As I attempted to stand up, two bungie cords restricted my arms. I must have groaned.
"Ah," said Krantz, covering the telephone's receiver with his right hand. "You're up." Without speaking, he hung up the phone and turned my way, jumping towards me on the bed, so he was right on top of me, glaring straight into my face. I began to wonder how much longer I could possibly survive.
"Okay, well, I just talked our old boss, and he says that you didn't contact him after the job. So you're either the computer, or you've gone rogue," said Krantz nonchalantly, as he snorted more of his sour white powder. "He doesn't care which. But he wants you dead. And that will be very, very, good for me."
I struggled against my bonds, but to no avail. Krantz eyed me and sneered. "I have to know one thing first...are you really Atkins, or the computer?" He was quite interested in my origin; however, I noticed that he was more interested in himself. Perhaps I could use that fact to my advantage...
"You seem to feel very strongly about that."
"About that you dying will be beneficial to me? Yes, I do feel very strongly about that."
"And why is that, Mr. Krantz?"
"Because I'll be a priority at the Project again. They'll give me the funding that I deserve. You think I don't belong at the Project because I don't know computers. Well, I do! I'm 'hip'! I'm 'with it'! I deserve R&D more than some pie-in-the-sky ATM research!"
Krantz brought his fist down on the nightstand. It caved in, splintering into several pieces. The skin on Krantz's hand was ripped a bit, and I noticed a glint off one of the motel lights. The hand was metal. Its coldness sent a shiver through the body as I felt it grasping my neck...
I am a sentient ATM.
how about a nice digital output? since we are talking about a digital medium.
On the site they list this as "Box Contents":
# Windows 98, Windows 98SE, 2000, Millennium
# Intel Pentium 200 MHz MMX or higher CPU
# 32MB RAM
# 16MB of available hard drive space
# CD-ROM drive
# PNA or Ethernet adapter for PC
Wouldn't it be nice if they gave you a case to put all that stuff? And they give out a beefy harddrive if it has all those windows and 16 Megs to spare.
All that for $189? What a bargin!
__
Choose mnemonic identifiers. If you can't remember what mnemonic means, you've got a problem. - Larry Wall
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here
Make me one that supports OGG files and I'll buy it.
UNIX/Linux Consulting
I am amazed at the fact that Rio is finally making their awesome ideas affordable. This seems like something that I can get into, however it probably is a little to early in the game for me. This kinda technology and pricing should help Rio stay in the market or alive for a while.
This will be modded Offtopic/Flamebait/Troll, but I'm just irked enough to post it anyway.
Reviews are most helpful when they draw some kind of consistent conclusion; One sentence says "The interface isn't bad" but is followed by a whole paragraph about what a pain the interface is to use. So, which is it?
Most of the article is more critical than complimentary, and yet the conclusion is "All in all, this is a pretty neat device." Feh.
I'm glad I'm not paying to read posts like this ad-free.
D-Link now has an Ethernet to 802.11 bridge. I plan to get one and drop it behind my home theater to get Ethernet to my Xbox, TiVo, and some MP3 streaming hardware. I'd rather not run CAT5 there for just these low bandwidth devices.
This article is a sad indication of the decline of Slashdot. Here we have a wholly closed and proprietary product, designed to work most effectively with Windows. I see not a word about a source release.
It is an outrage and an affront that Slashdot should help market such a product. That Slashdot should do so without questioning or even mentioning the proprietary nature of the product is well beyond mere "outrage".
Proprietary products are of no interest. They are unstable, unreliable, and unmodifiable. Geeks don't need them, don't want them, and don't use them. This product is entirely irrelevant to Slashdot's tech-savvy readership.
So why is it here?
Money changed hands.
"Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive" -- hey, that's me!
The SliMP3 is less polished, but is fed with a simple perl program that streams audio. The Audiotron is fed with any Samba compatible server. In other words, either device can work with a Linux box. The Rio currently can't
Okay, this is probably the 10th time there's been a story about the Rio Receiver, and in each and every one someone like me stands up to shout:
There are open-source Linux servers for the Rio Receiver!!!
Check out a simple perl/apache one by Jeff Mock at www.mock.com/receiver,
a more complex server that's built on java, jetty, struts, and the like at http://sourceforge.net/projects/jreceiver/. And be sure to check out the Rio discussion forum at http://rioreceiver.comms.net.
Sonic Blue engineers frequent that message board, and there's lots of open-source hacking going on, including line-out kernel hacks, integrated web and vnc servers, and the like.
What would be really great would be if someone actually tested all the various computer to stereo devices that are now hitting the market and made some sense of their differences, both in terms of features and in terms of quality.
e ach.com/site/products /audiotron/)
There's, by my count:
Rio Central & Rio Receiver (www.sonicblue.com)
Audiotron(http://www.turtleb
Lansonic Digital Audio Server (www.lansonic.com)
Request Audio Requester (www.request.com)
SliMP3 (www.slimdevices.com)
Stereo-Link (www.stereo-link.com)
Yamaha CAVIT (http://www.yamaha.com/yec/cavit/)
No one has mentioned Request, Lansonic or Yamaha products, to my knowledge. Nor has anyone compared the sound quality output to that of, say, the SoundBlaster Audigy.
This is clearly a burgeoning category, but I for one could use some help separating the winners from the losers.
It seems to me the the major price addition on these receivers is the processor. Why not do something like Sony's PCLink for their MD's (except this would use something with longer distance than USB) and feed audio, rather than MP3 data straight from the computer? That way, there is no interference with normal audio on the PC, yet the stream is processed to audio by your already purchased general purpose PC processor. It also allows for a bit more flexibility in file format support. I can't imagine these limited use processors/memory units have a lot of room for additional codec code.
I imagine some sort of cheap PCI card broadcasting wirelessly to the "receiver". Plus, it would look better than stringing CAT-5 all over the house, since a lot of PC's are no where near the nice stereo equipment.
*everything* is Orwellian to cats.
Translation: "Hey, I'm in the market for a free MP3 unit. Which one of you manufacturors will be the first one to shut me up by mailing me a free one? I promise to post all of your specs in the article for site's my massive audience!
------
Today's Top Deals
Disney CEO Michael Eisner will appear before congress to argue that hpna/ethernet technology is only used for the illegal copy and distribution of copyrighted material and that the use of hpna/ethernet should be banned or heavily regulated. Eisner is also reportedly not happy with people humming the theme songs from Disney movies in public, but is not expected to propose any limitations on vocal cords at his appearance before congress.
"Good things don't end with eum, they end with mania or teria." - H. Simpson
It's 3-14 1:59
I've been happy with my Rio Receiver for the most part, but the screen problem is a real drag, as it renders advanced remote functions practically useless at a distance. Also, on Win2K, trying to import large playlists has a tendency to crash the Rio application.
But it's an easier sale now that the price point has started to drop a bit. When it was up near $300 it was harder to swallow.
- Hacking The Rio Receiver
:: Join Today To Get A UID < 100!
- Setting up a Linux machine as a server for the RR
- Code for the Rio Receiver to exercise LCD, IR remote, audio, and a GPL MP3 player
- There are a few other sections on the above website as well; anyone with a RR or considering purchasing one should check it out.
MONOLINUX
You can run reasonable quality audio over about 30-50m of CAT5 and then solder phone jacks on the end and plug it into your stereo, or buy a cheap amplifier and be done with it.
So what is the advantage of this box? Doesn't appear to have Remote control, and anyway, you could use remote control for your PC as it is.
Great if you have the money, but my PC with DVD sends audio and video over about 20m of CAT5 and the Audio and Video quality are just fine thank you very much (using Composite signal from TV out card).
Conversion Rate Optimisation French / English consultant
I've noticed that as we get cooler and more portable technology, sound quality seems to be on the decline.
MP3 sucks. Well maybe it doesn't suck, but it's a damned sight worse than CD audio, and let's not forget that CDs just barely encompass the resolution and frequency response that we can discern. There's bloody little headroom to muck about with on a CD without affecting the sound. Lossy compression (i.e. MP3 format) definitely qualifies, and definitely affects the sound.
This is fine for portable systems, computer speakers, and so forth; However, I'm getting worried that MP3 and other similar formats will become dominant in the marketplace. We may see before long a world where it's pointless to get really excellent audio equipment, because the playback quality is severely limited by the format.
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
If you've got a laptop running Windows or Linux, get a wireless card and a wireless router/Access Point, set up your desktop as a samba server and you've achieved the same thing. Additional benefit is you can use the laptop to ssh or check e-mail. :)
(24311)Selected WMA tracks aren't being added to the Receiver.
WMA files can have built in file protection. This allows distributors to add features such as expiration dates to the downloaded files. If one or more WMA tracks are not added correctly when you Import Music, this is most likely caused by a limitation of the file. Try playing the files in question on the server, with any normal WMA music player. If the track will not play on the server computer. Contact the distributor for more information on playing these files. If you have playback permissions or are using an unprotected WMA file, you should not experience this issue.
Interesting that they have to explain this to their users. Here DRM acting "normally" is perceived as a problem by users and techsupport. After users experience this once, will they switch from MP3 to WMA? I don't think so.
sulli
RTFJ.
Another alternative for MP3's that I don't see mentioned often:
Ramsey Electronics has an FM transmitter which plugs in nicely to your computer. Then, any radio around the house can pick up your MP3s, including the main radio, and the headphone radio you have when you mow the lawn.
The only catch is that this transmitter is sold as a kit of parts, and you must solder the thing together. This makes it a "homebrew" radio which is legal to transmit onto the FM band. It works great around the house.
I don't get it. Why don't people who manufacture these devices document the protocol and put it up on the web? They'd have Linux and MacOS support within days.
You can find 802.11 desktop wireless cards on pricewatch for less than $40 now. It seems that they could have put this feature in at a small cost to them. And streaming mp3s at 2.5Mb/s is more than enough bandwidth. If i'm going to use these for multizone audio as the article suggests, I sure as heck don't want to wire them all with CAT5 around my house.
The writer's an idiot. He's not quite in touch with the idea of communicating any kind of meaningful information.
Welcome to Slashdot.
I have one of these mounted on the wall in my garage, with ethernet run out there and in-wall speakers. I'd definitely not want a computer and monitor out in my garage. This is perfect. The inboard amplifier is great, too!
Definitely doesn't belong in a stero rack, though.. That's where the Audiotron is. Looks like a stereo component, and has optical audio out.
And, the comment about how it requires a computer? Oh, I'm venturin' to guess that everyone on this site has a computer laying around. Comon.
My Rio Receiver works great, and I've never run the Windows software. The Rio Receiver is one of the best values around for remote networked MP3 players. At its core, the Rio Receiver (aka Sonic Blue) is an ARM7 processor running Linux.
With a little work, you can get it to boot from a Linux server and mount its filesystem over NFS. (This is what the Windows software does, more or less.) The entire filesystem is in the "receiver.arf" tar file that comes with the software.
The most well-known Rio server hack for Linux was put together by Jeff Mock and available from his webpage. If you're reasonably familiar with setting up remote-booting machines, the Rio should not be much of a challenge. Jeff wrote a small perl daemon to handle the unique boot sequence for the Rio, and a larger set of scripts to serve up the MP3 files.
After using Jeff's fine server for a while, I found I wanted something with better MP3 management and playlist support. That's when I found the JReceiver Project. This software rocks! It's a royal PITA to set up if you're not a Java programmer, but it does quite a bit. It's a full SQL front-end for your MP3 content, so playlists can be dynamic from SQL expressions ("I want all new ROCK songs added in the last 14 DAYS that are not by CREED"). And of course, it serves the Rio directly. It will also handle the booting if you want to boot Rio from the same Linux machine that runs JReceiver.
Last, Frank van Gestel put together a terrific modification to the Rio Receiver filesystem that adds a local http server to the receiver box itself. This serves up the exact front-panel display to a web browser, and you can operate all the controls remotely over the network. Now you can get a clear view of the Receiver screen without being right in front of it. Further, it will let you control the line-level volume output as well as the speaker output (a shortcoming of the original kernel). You can get the patch files in this thread
Lots of intelligent discussion on the Rio boxes at rioreceiver.comms.net
All in all, this is the best networked MP3 player going for under $100. Audiotron is nice, but this is cheaper and far more hackable. Runs Linux, boots from Linux, built-in ethernet, and has no fan or hard drive.
The only disappointment is that it has no digital audio (SPDIF) output. No coax, no optical.. line level only. Ah well, MP3's aren't exactly hifi anyway.
Enjoy!
I've found that a cheap FM transmitter coupled with a regular PC makes a great music delivery device. Ramsey Electronics, among other companies, make a variety of FM transmitters that can take the sound output from your computer, and locally broadcast it to any radio or stereo you have. You don't need any other special equiment, get your favorite mp3 playing app on whatever OS you prefer and you're ready to go. The quality isn't anything to write home about, but for the price and the ability to use all your existing equipment, I think it makes a great choice. Just think, you can "stream" to your clock-radio in your bedroom!
Box Contents:
Windows 98, Windows 98SE, 2000, Millennium
Intel Pentium 200 MHz MMX or higher CPU
32MB RAM
16MB of available hard drive space
CD-ROM drive
PNA or Ethernet adapter for PC
Does that mean I get a PC too?
Slashdot is like Playboy: I read it for the articles
Jeff Mock has posted a great page dissecting the box from the inside.
The best server (which has a LOT more functionality than the windows software, and doesn't crash when using more than 1000 songs either) is open source and available at jreceiver.sourceforge.net
In short, this is a cheap (~$150) but powerful little unit that fits into the smallest spaces and runs Linux to boot. What more could you ask for? (Besides open-source code from the manufacturer, which would be nice but isn't going to happen)
The Rio Receiver plays OGG files just fine, if you use JReceiver. JReceiver has some "transcoders" to handle non-native audio formats like OGG, so it converts your OGG files to MP3 on the fly while streaming them to the Rio Reciever.
If you don't like that, you can always hack the Rio Receiver software yourself to add an OGG player. The whole mounted filesystem is there for you to play with. You can replace the whole player with Ogg Vorbis if you like.
but can it stream off a shoutcast server? I recently setup a shoutcast server along with a web interface to let someone pick the songs that play on it remotely from the web, is there a player like that that i can just point at my stream and have it play?
Hey, how about internet radio? when will the first linux hack come out and hopefully with internet radio and mp3 recording....
It's too bad the thing is so ugly no one would ever want to put it in their living room next to the rest of their stereo equipment.
I have a website. It's about Macs.
MAybe one of you faggots, er, experts can make a beowulf cluster of Rio Recievers to listen to my N'Sync EXTRA loud.
I can pay $100 for the rio, but a $150 is a little steep for me. Where can you get it for $100.
I didn't recognize the acronym, so here's a link for others who might not: HPNA
If it turns out you get a Dell, I'd believe it.
You know what?
The review states that discount places are selling these for $100. I've searched for the last half hour and I've found nothing close to that price. $99 would be a perfect price point for something like this. I would like to buy 3, but at a $170 I'll buy some cheap compact stereos instead.
Next question ... can it stream uncompressed audio. I have a large collection of lossless .shn files. Can this unit receive an uncompressed stream, or is it restricted to receiving MP3s and WMAs?
.shns, but what I'm really interested in is whether the player can accept an uncompressed stream. It would be pointless to take my nice, lossless files, and convert them to lossy .mp3 format just to listen to them.
Presumably I'd have to do some hacking to jreceiver or the like in order to decode the
On this page on the Rio Receiver, it says it is "Upgradeable to support future audio formats". Has anyone made one of these work with an Ogg Vorbis codec?
At $170 bucks I think it's overpriced. Pick up a virgin webplayer or other hackable "network appliance" from a failed startup for $30 and staple an old hard drive to it and you have a much more versatile system for a lot less money.
this is getting old and so are you
blog
This sounds like the perfect thing to use to listen to your streamsicle server, check out the link in the sig.
The funny part is that most entry level processor / media solutions these days have enough power to do more than just a couple tasks. The problem is that vendors *want* to offer a tiered product line for the sake of maximizing revenue/income.
Take a look at VIA's new mini-ITX reference board. It is only 170mm square and they claim fanless operation with minimal power consumption. Target price is under $100 including processor. If a talented *someone* could sit down with linux and design a quality open solution for Mp3 devices, then it wouldn't be long before others add TV time-shifting, DVD, HDTV and possibly even gaming (in the future, near 3D will be plenty cheap), then consumers would have an option other than the standard-issue MS product that will eventually fill the market. You think that Sony can afford to put millions into playstation developement when all that MS has to do is reach into the PC parts bin? Playstation will be dead or X86-based real soon. The economies of scale just don't favor non-x86 anymore.
My prediction:
The various/uncollaborated open source projects will sit in alpha and beta stages while Microsoft toils away at a mediocre standard that works at the consumer's expense of an increased stranglehold. They've already started. Soon, they will expand their technologies to the automobile and soon everyone will have a car capable of communicating wirelessly with their Windows household. Your car's GPS will track every aspect of its life. Was/is little Billy speeding? What was my fuel mileage on the vacation last summer? How did it compare with this summer's vacation? Ah - the car is due for an oil change. I'll just find a local provider via the provided MS software and the map will be uploaded into the car's navigation system. Microsoft gets a small percentage of the oil change cost, of course. What about road hazzards? The ABS & GPS systems in the car could warn others of potentially slippery roads. Airbag go off? Warn others and call for an ambulance. Linux *could* do this but it won't because MS will establish themselves before it happens. Enough about the cars...
My point is that while the linux community toils away at various different projects, they haven't a single focused effort in the new areas that will allow MS to continue their world domination. Back to the MP3 player:
So what's the deal? Why can't some talented (not me or I would have done it) entity come up with a stripped down, lightweight, open version of Linux for the purpose of having an open-standard for consumers? Sure - their isn't much money in it but it *has to* happen if MS is to be toppled. It would seem like VIA would put some money into LinuxBIOS for their new mini-ITX form factor - they could sell processors for financial gain and subsidize this development. Soon, people would be piecing together their own DVD/MP3/DivX media players - and VIA would have a piece of the action. The pieces are all there but nobody ever bothers to try and put them together...
Sigh...
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
- Very simple on-board software; no codedcs required
- Automatically future-proof: if your computer can decode and transmit it, you'll hear it
- Fairly low hardware requirements, no signal processing
- Simple interface; a volume knob might be all you need.
It seems to me such a device could be useful... Oh, and about the bandwidth: a full CD-quality stream is, as everyone knows, roughly 170 KB/s, or 1.6 Mbps. On a 10 Mbps net, that's rather heavy, but on a 100 Mbps LAN, I wouldn't care much. I mean, it's only for internal LAN use, afterall. So, am I nuts, or would such a box (which I imagine could be produced in the $50-$60 range) be good for anything? Is it already out there, and I've just missed it?main(O){10<putchar(4^--O?77-(15&5128 >>4*O):10)&&main(2+O);}
You can't capitalize or spell, you can't punctuate, you can't write a complete sentence, and you're incapable of expressing whatever tiny and elusive thoughts you may have.
That's pretty sad.
Actually, you don't need extra hardware at all, you can use your monitor as an AM transmitter:
Tempest for Eliza
Ok, the sound quality is lousy, but...
I use a dedicated computer in my stereo cabinet for that purpose. It has no keyboard, mouse or monitor -- its controlled via VNC. Cost, including shipping, was around $50.
It's a bit of a pain having to boot it up each time I want to use it. But I've found it works fine to just power the thing off (without doing a shutdown).
It would be nice if I could set it up so it would start playing the last-played playlist automatically after booting. You'd turn it on, and a couple minutes later, it would start playing something. No need for VNC access until you want to change playlists. That would be nice...
Why bother spending $170 on this thing when $35 provides an FM transmitter? Talk about leveraging the wireless world! It has the added bonus playing other things too, such as internet radio. I already use one to listen to the BBC World Service in other rooms of my house. If I want an MP3 music mix for a party, I can create it on the computer and let it go.
Seems to me this otherwise great product is somewhat tarnished, for me at least, by the fact that it isn't wireless capable. I mean, if I put this bad boy in my living room, that means I'd have to run an ethernet cable across my living room, through my kitchen, down a hallway, and into my room. Also, since I'm already jacked into the net via ethernet on my main Linux machine, which holds my mp3's, does this mean I have to get a second NIC card to plug the Receiver into?
I posted to
The receiver finds an available IP address- although it seemed to ignore our DHCP server and actually took our routers IP once! This isn't a fatal flaw..., but you may wanna double check when you set this thing up to make sure you don't get any surprises.
Translation: The Rio DHCP client is broken.
The interface on the front of the box takes a little getting used to.
Translation: The Rio user interface sucks.
The screen on the receiver leaves a lot to be desired.
Translation: The screen on the Rio sucks.
The Win98 software is very bare bones
Translation: The Rio software sucks.
Thank you.
"And like that
"this thing is priced to reasonably for people who want ... to stream audio from their PC to stereo"
And how is that different from hanging a $3.00 patch cable from the Audio Out port on the sound card to the Audio In on the stereo amp? That leaves $97.00 for, umm, what exactly?
That's Linksys, not D-link. You can plug it in to a switch/hub for all your devices.
Instant Wireless to Ethernet Adapter (WET11) - The Wireless to Ethernet Adapter enables any PC, printer, router, hard drive, or other Ethernet-equipped network hardware -- with wireless LAN connectivity. It acts as a wireless converter to bridge wireless and Ethernet. Use the Wireless to Ethernet Adapter interchangeably with your PCs and network hardware to extend and customize your wireless network to your needs.
You can get it for $150 at TheNerds.net and $158 from Gateway
But I can't find it for $100 at any of my other Discount haunts...
Canabinol.
--
A Teaspoon placed in a glass on the back seat of your car makes a handy audible gauge for road bump severity.
It's called an FM transistor radio. The PC side is an FM transmitter...
What if someone in another room wants to listen to something other than what's being broadcast from the server?
There was a comment similar to this one yesterday. I think you are missing one of the advantages of a setup like this - each receiver can play its own audio stream. If you don't want to do that, then an FM transmitter is fine. But if you want to listen to different things in different areas simultanously, then it doesn't help.
The audiotron is by far better. Bigger display, audio component sized, and no additional software needed to make it work. Built in web browser configuration. The audiotron also streams audio off the web.
My only gripe with either of these boxes is that they don't have TV output. TV output seems like it would be easy to do and it would add minimal cost to the unit ($50).
The audiotron occasionally hangs when it encounters really long filenames or corrupt files, but in the year i've owened it i've only seen it happen twice.
-ted
Why spend all that time setting up HomePNA unless you already have it for something else? And even if you do have it, you're still limited by the device's need to be close to a phone jack.
Much more practical, I'd think, to get an FM transmitter installed in your PC, or even just attach one to your speaker jack. Noticably cheaper, than a Rio Receiver either way. This way you can pick up your MP3 collection from any FM radio in the house, even untethered battery-powered ones.
25' stereo patch cable: $2.50
They already exist, for one thing. The problem I have with recording audio to MP3 or MiniDisc is that you start off with a lossy compressed format. Solid state recording is finally starting to come into fruition, with companies like Nagra (and even the new Nomad) offering harddisk-based portable units. I'd personally rather have the option of recording to PCM/WAV (at either 16 or 24 bit) and doing any compression (probably SHN) on the "master" copy later on. Storage is so cheap now that there's no reason not to at least record in uncompressed format.
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Interesting, AS220 made Slashdot. Great place to drop by if you are ever in Providence, Rhode Island. Kind of an artist commune, bar, coffeeshop, gallery, and place to see shows rolled into one. I used to live near there thought it deserved the plug. especially since they have some oggs. AS220
If you're in the market for a device like this, check out the SliMp3 from www.slimdevices.com. It works with Linux and MacOSX as well as Windows and is a pleasure to use. Their support is excellent as well.
I've had to have one of tjhose damned sonic motion sensors disabled in one office already. It was disabled by the tech using a sharp pointed pencil jammed into the snout of the device. When I asked him if that was a "standard" fix he replied that yes, it was! Apparently I'm not the only one who's heard the damned things and while the tech couldn't hear them himself he assured me that this fix has ALWAYS worked :-)
:-P
Out of an office of about 30 people only two of us could hear the silly thing. It gave me massive headaches until we could figure out what the heck was going on. So yeah, there could be something in the higher or maybe lower ranges of a recording that some of us might find valuable.
Hrm, and when I burn a decently ripped MP3 to a CD, as in one I'VE ripped, it generally comes out pretty good. Others have come out crappy I'll admit but the ones I've taken care to do mostly right sound decent with no really apparent screwups. We'll see hwo this goes when I get my alpine MP3 player installed in the dash and I no longer have to convert the MP3 back to CD format...
Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
I don't know the last time I heard something with two outputs really being described as having lots of outputs. If it had Balanced XLR, Toslink, Coaxial, and at least two pairs of RCA outputs, that would be a lot. What are bare wire outputs for speakers as well? Are they spring clips, which are just horrible, or are they something like nice 5-way binding posts that accept bare wires, banana plugs, and spade lugs? Since you're writing this for a fairly technical audience, can't you look up the technical terms for the outputs on the device so we can know more about it? Oh, and is the headphone jack 1/4" or 1/8" in size?
Eh? A socket is a socket, last time I looked.
In any case, this device is hardly obsolete. It has ethernet, it has an amplifier, and I can serve it from Linux. What more is there to talk about? I don't care if the manufacturer hasn't done anything new with the software, I intend to do a lot of stuff with the software.
Besides, the protocol's already documented. It's not like this stuff is rocket science to figure out.
Actually, It does have a remote control.
And the control panel is easy enough for my family to use, and household guests. Not so with a computer in another room. The Rio is a combination UI device / remote speaker overy CAT5 -- it just talks ethernet over the CAT5.
Because the source comes with it, someone has re-compiled the kernel to make the volume control operate on line out as well as speaker out.
Please check out my review on this product late last year, as featured on Slashdot last November.
I bought a SoundFeeder SF100 from BestBuy for $10. It has a 1/8" plug for sound input (soundcard, anyone?) and a cig lighter plug to power itself. I replaced the internal antenna with a 1/4 wave piece of wire, soldered an old cig. lighter adapter socket I had lying around to a HDD power cable / fan adapter....
And now my computer directly powers my FM transmitter. Put a second soundcard in dedicated to the SF, and now I have XMMS crossfading through my playlist, all over the house.
$10 SF100
$9.50 Soundcard from compgeeks.com
$2? Cig.lighter splitter to cannibalize
Beats the hell out of the cost of the Ramsey FM25, which is bulkier and doesn't work any better without a seriously improved antenna.
Ce n'est pas un vrai mouvement de robot!
no, they got a free unit to review.
P75 Laptop w/ built in ehternet: $50
IR Reciever w/ Universal remote [evation.com]: $50
Give or take some tax and shipping, depending on your locaility, and you have your self a fine soloution.
P75 is decent for both window$/linux use, and xmms supports winamp plugins so the factory software for the IR reciever will work out of the box.
Also on the Scope i was using was set to just connect the dots and not to do any kind of shaping of the wave.
Most DACs are sample'n'hold (turning waves at half sample rate into square waves), but "oversampling" DACs operate at 88 kHz or higher, using various methods of interpolation and convolution to drive the aliasing artifacts well into the high frequencies (30 kHz and above) where analog filters can easily take care of them. Some DACs (called "sigma-delta" or "1-bit") use only 1 bit per channel but run in the near-MHz range, letting the analog filters remove the dithering.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Out of an office of about 30 people only two of us could hear the silly thing. It gave me massive headaches until we could figure out what the heck was going on. So yeah, there could be something in the higher or maybe lower ranges of a recording that some of us might find valuable. :-P
You're probably not hearing >19 kHz audio but rather stuff in 5-20 kHz. Those annoying toys often have DACs that operate at about 8 kHz, which leaves aliasing artifacts all over the spectrum from 4 kHz up. (4 kHz is about the frequency of the highest note on a standard piano.) They also tend to have cheap analog filters that don't do a good job of killing the aliasing.
Will I retire or break 10K?
...because thats exactly what I do. I have a 'media server' that basically acts as: a DVD/Divx;) player, MP3 server/streamer (for playing the same thing in multiple places in my apartment. I don't need a seperte device for that ), MAME console, and cool distracion. I use the computer to watch tv (via a TV-out vid card) and use a wireless keyboard as a glorified remote control.
To avoid ugly cat5, I have a DWL-650 wireless card/bridge setup in it and connect it to a Linksys WAP. Its not a bad idea for an old AMD K6III-450.
Since I have several Macs at home running iTunes, and also an iPod, I'm probably not switching to windows or linux to serve mp3s to the stereo .. BUT it would be nice to serve them over ethernet to a SliMP3. Can I do this with Mac (OS9 preferable, OSX okay)?
sulli
RTFJ.
Actually yes. It's the Rio Receiver. I've set mine up to do this in the space of an hour before. It NFS boots (once you handle the UPnP/SSDP protocols) and all you have to do is get it to automatically run netcat or something and pipe it to /dev/dsp.
It's small, there's no fan in it, it's got ethernet, and it has a good quality built-in 10 watt amplifier. No digital output unfortunately.
15,000 songs and 80 gigs of MP3 laters, this is a godsend.
I bought the Dell version for $250.00. It was the best geek expenditure of my life. I have over
1200 CDs and nowheere to store them. Now, I have several of these units ($100 at Tiger Direct).
This device, alone, is the most impressive toy for house-guest. I can count scoring with at least 6 chicks
because they wanted to stay over and hear my "music" collection. I can't say the same for anything else
geeky I have. It is truly a nice toy except navigating 15,000 songs is a bitch. You really
need to set up playlists to make it practical, shuffle, or play randomly.
I've upgraded it (got it off the web) so I can now control the unit with a web browser.
But, if I had to do it again, I would pay $300 for it. It is quiet and easy to use (even for my non-geek friends),.
I used to have a Linux sever in my living room but the fan/harddrive noise killed it.
This is quiet and has a remote control.
I made my own by running a wire from my linux server to my home stereo. I then wrote a Perl web interface to madplay which controls the mp3 playlist etc. I can start playing MP3's from my Audrey, laptop or even a Palm VII. Personally, I found it a lot of fun and really didn't cost anything besides the wire. It's also a lot of fun to start playing an MP3 from work while your wife is home ;-)
Check it out if you're interested:
http://www.fperkins.com/news/archives/00000001.sht ml
Live web cams
Stupid slashdot keeps inserting a space in my link. Here you go:
More info...
Live web cams
Because it gets mp3's without having a storage itself :-)
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