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ZapStation Price Cut, Linux-Only Version
Richard Robison of ZapMedia
wrote in to say that their ZapStation stereo MP3 Box has had a serious price
cut to $599. If you put in the comments field 'JUST LINUX' they will ship you
the box with just Linux installed (and code to control the IR input and screen).
In other words, a $600 stereo component
PC ready to connect to your TV and speakers for whatever video or audio projects
you feel like rolling up yourself. I
reviewed this unit last December
and found a lot of problems, but many of those glitches have apparently been
fixed, and the price was the biggest problem, so this thing may deserve a
serious second look this time around.
This seems reasonable, since it's not much different than the price of building one yourself.
bp
These boxes were selling for just over $1500.00, and now they are down to $600? Is this decrease due to getting cheaper bulk goods, or is this an unofficial liquidation??
Even at $600, it's a little pricey, but it definitely looks a lot better than throwing a PC in your entertainment center. I honestly might buy one of these now for a music server with screen overlay project I've been cooking up.
Who would pay $600 for what essentially is an off-the-shelf PC with a custom shaped case. I can build the same thing with off the shelf components for under $400. I've also found that the S/N ratio on most consumer quality PC sound cards leaves something to be desired. Most low-end sound cards have a S/N ration of around 90 dB, which is completely unacceptable for even the weekend audiophile. I think I'll stick with my PC for gaming and web browsing and use REAL stereo components for my music listening needs.
-atrowe: Card-carrying Mensa member. I have no toleranse for stupidity.
I would rather pay $400 for a refurbished computer capable of playing all the formats this machine plays. Lets look at its problems:
Can't FTP properly if FTP sites have symlinks.
Can't do large FTP transfers.
Importing tracks from sources other than ripped CDs causes the track order to be lost.
No shuffled play.
Popping noises when listening to tracks via optical cable.
Shitty UI.
Can't change your playlist as it's being played through.
Can play MPEG video only.
Pixelated/jerky DVD playback.
Anamorphic issues with DVD playback.
Which of these issues have actually been fixed? A lot of them seem to be pretty important to me. ie: It may be nice if issues 1-5 are fixed, but if DVD playback is still pixelated/jerky, the device may be worthless.
I think my /. subscription's broken. I just read a feature-length ad for ZapMedia.
comment from original /. post:
Prediction (Score:5, Insightful)
by onion2k (onion@uberworld.spamspamspam.org) on 11:06 Friday 07 December 2001 (#2670973) Alter Relationship
(User #203094 Info | http://slashdot.org/) Its $1500 dollars now. In 3 months they'll drop that to around $799. And the Slashdot headline will read 'ZapStation now affordable'. This sort of market just begs for this kind of ploy. Sell way high to start with and recoup development costs from the early adopters with pots of cash (plus its Christmas), and then drop down to a sensible (?!) price.
The fact the media gives loads of free advertising to it when the initial production run is finished and the machine is market tested is the icing on the cake.
Examples where this has happened before? The Sony Clie, PSX, Dreamcast, PS2, lots of hifis.. if its desirable home entertainment, then this is the obvious sales plan.
Moral of the story? Wait and save.
so, can someone score a +5 informative for me and tell me where i can find the free/open source software to make this an easy to use component in my tv/stereo setup?
i mean:
- rip &play mp3/ogg/windows media, divx, dvd
- audio recording (some radio transmissions are really worthwhile saving!)
- video recording (analog).
and all this with a nice and easy interface that can be viewed on the tv i use for video output?
i know of some of the aplications i just mentioned (mplayer, xine, xmms, etc). it's just that they're all separate applications, which doesn't make it easy to use. i don't want to sit and watch a dvd, using a keyboard and mouse to navigate through the thing.
ps. don't tell me to code it myself or shut up, because i can't code, and most of the people interested in this kind of thing can't either.
"Yeah? What?"
"Well...the webserver will go down for half a day or so..."
Take a look at
http://davedina.apestaart.org
The project is far from finished and i don't know if it will work on this setup. But you can ask around on the mailinglist.
We have a working box in our living room that does some of the things you want (no audio recording yet)
Why not just get a 1ghz linux box from Wal-Mart for $200 less?
u ct _id=1731327&cat=41937&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3 944%3A3951%3A41937
Wal-mart...
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?prod
I work at ZapMedia. If this actually happened, call me and I will take care of the problem. Since we never sold a box for $799, my guess is that this never happened. My number is 678-420-2720. -Richard
XML causes global warming.