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Component MP3/OGG Players?
RJV asks: "I currently have a rather large digital music collection. It is all in mp3 or ogg format and it is all from CDs that I personally own or have borrowed from friends. I have built a rather cheap mp3 server to store all of the music on and I listen to it on my machines rather easily. However, I'm looking for a better solution for accessing and playing from the archive in my living room. I currently have a linux box that uses the TV as a monitor. I can use it fine to play mp3/ogg files through the home theater, but mostly because I know where the buttons are in xmms. (640x480 isn't the best resolution for xmms). I've looked into multiple other projects, such as Aurian Music Manager and Freevo (the computer also has a TV in card) but have not been satisfied with their performance and/or ease of use, especially when trying to use my Universal Remote Control. So, I've decided that perhaps the best course of action for the living room is to purchase a stand-alone component that will integrate with my current system. What are my options and are there any experiences within the community with these products?"
"I'd like to find a product that has the following features (in order of importance).
- Ethernet Connectivity (NFS/SAMBA/something Linux can share out)
- Intuitive/Easy-to-Use Interface
- IR Remote Control (so I can use my Universal Remote)
- Ability to play mp3s and oggs
- TV display capabilities (may fall under Intuitive Interface)
- Digital Out
- CDR capabilities
It is not exactly what you want for but you should give it a look... http://www.slimdevices.com/
-- If there is hope, it lies in the trolls... oh sorry I mean proles.
find it ironic that the "Ability to play mp3s and oggs" comes in fourth position (in order of importance)?
I mean, it is better if the device is user friendly and can't play mp3/ogg than if it isnt user friendly and do everything you want?
Check out the full specs...
That's exactly what I['m doing with my audrey. The audrey has a nice touch screen so its easy to use. Mounts nfs/smb shares, has and IR port that you control with a learning remote.
You can buy them for about $100 and with a 32meg CF card update them pretty quickly. Mine has a digital picture frame that runs and pulls random pictures from a share, a full screen mp3/ogg player and a callerid display. It sits beside my sofa so I can get to it easily.
Check out Linux Hacker BBs and audreyhacking.com
Here is a project I found a little while ago that is trying to create a Linux distro (actually just a graphical interface) for home theater multimedia devices to be displayed on the TV.
h tm
here is the homepage:
http://staff.washington.edu/jmgasper/index.htm
check out the screenshots here, pretty cool looking!:
http://staff.washington.edu/jmgasper/screenshots.
--- Brad (http://www.LinuxReview.net)
Info here.
I own two of these. The audiotron works by scanning a windows/samba share...so it will work with linux.
It is audio component sized, uses ethernet or HPNA, is rack-mountable,uses an IR remote control, and turtle beach even publishes the IR codes for programming devices like a Pronto.
I'm not sure about OGG support. My whole collection is MP3, but it does support WMA (groan).
There is no TV out support. It does, however, have an optical digital out, if you choose to use external D/A conversion.
I've been very happy with mine. I got gave away a sonic blue balls device because it required proprietary server software....and the support sucked.
Hope this is helpful.
-ted
I wouldn't give up on the computer unless the audio card delivers unsatisfying sound quality or the system makes too much noise on it's own.
For one, using the gui is not necessarily the best approach anyway. For one there are keyboard shortcuts in most every application. For another, you could get something like xmms-lirc and some other relatively cheap device and use a remote on your system.
The *huge* plus for having an HTPC is that you are not limited to mere music applications. Video is a decent option, and games as well. I know the resolution is not great on most TVs, but can't beat them for size.
But if you *really* want to go over the deepend in price, you could improve your display technology. A projector that does XGA (1024x768) is very awesome. If you like big screens and like Video, that is a life saver, and it can cut down in cords. For example, you would have your screen and probably stereo speakers of front, with one wire for each speaker running, say, behind your couch. You keep all your stereo and video equipment back there, or next to your couch. I'm big on video game systems, so the cords on controllers are more convenient this way. Plus, I don't have to move my butt off the couch to change DVDs when I'm watching a Box Set in a sitting... Of course, a decent projector runs a couple of thousand, and you can't walk in front of it, so it is something you have to carefully consider...
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
Under Canadian copyright law, he'd be fine AFAIK. Don't assume everyone lives where you do :).
SSL Certificate
The Turtle Beach AudioTron has been tempting me for quite some time. I've looked at many other component systems and this seems to be the most solid in terms of support, build quality, and ease of use.
If you don't want to have to run a patch cable to it, simply use a wireless bridge like the LinkSys WET11 or get a wireless ethernet converter to tie it into your SAMBA server.
Not legal to make mix tapes.
Oh really? Let me pull out the letter of the United States Code:
17 USC 107: The fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords ... for purposes such as[1] ... is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include ...
17 USC 1008: No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright based on the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a ... recording device, or a ... recording medium, or based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of such a device or medium for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings.
[1] 17 USC 101: The terms ''including'' and ''such as'' are illustrative and not limitative.
Will I retire or break 10K?
ARQ2-135 or their new TeraServer
Absolutely the best engineered component MP3 player available.
ReQuest Multimedia
rs232, tcp/ip, and IR control, digital out, tv out (composite and s-video), analog out, analog in, built-in samba and webserver, runs QNX, excellent support, pre-written modules for control from high-end systems like Crestron, drives are swappable, fully-documented open protocols, java remote, etc, etc. Highly recommended. I have an ARQ1 that I'm very happy with, and I get to play with ARQ2-135's almost everyday.
PR link at request
(I have played with Arrakis DC6, Escient Fireball's, Lansonic, and prefer the AudioRequest by far. If I was going to recommend a runner up, it would be the Arrakis because of the 6 zones, but the AudioRequest wins for me because of MP3 support, upcoming OggVorbis support, better interfaces and it is their primary business).
-a.e.mossberg
The moment you say that musical works are somehow worth less than written works or inventions, then you have stripped musicians of their rights.
There's no way to guarantee that the song you just wrote isn't also the song that somebody else just wrote. Such coincidences are exceedingly likely to happen, and defending oneself in court against an allegation of plagiarism is prohibitively expensive for a novice songwriter. Thus, songwriters are already stripped of their rights.
Will I retire or break 10K?
(everything else in my house uses 802.11)
Including your neighbors.
...it is all from CDs that I personally own or have borrowed from friends
I hear a whole bunch of people rushing to say insightful things such as "Uh dude, don't you know that's illegal?"
So here's the counter point: Who gives a fuck!
What are you all? His mother or something? Don't you have a sore ass from riding that moral high horse all day? The question wasn't whether or not he had your express permission to own certain mp3/ogg copies of the music.
It was, paraphrased: "What's an easy stand alone solution for playing the music", probably asked for the benefit of visiting non-techy friends to allow them to cue and play some tunes in his lounge room, without first getting a degree or reading massive amounts of documentation.
Haven't any of you ever owned a mix cassete tape recorded from the radio/a friends album? Did that stop you buying LPs?
Sheesh
Grab a 2-U case and build what you have under . . .
*GASP*
WinXP. I hate to say it, but for this application, Windows running UIce for a remote interpolation prog seems to work best for me. I played with several different things, but the best performance/usability I've gotten is with XP and UIce using an AverTV card. Here's why:
1) The AverTV Studio card works best under Windows and has limited TIVO-like functionality and has a remote control that most IR remote apps will recognize. It's also suprising quality, and quite cheap.
2) UIce will direct keystrokes to any running prog, and any key on a remote can be designated to pracicaly any function, including mouse movement.
3) WinAmp has a nifty double-size function that makes it quite usable on the TV. I don't know if XMMS or any of it's ilk have this, though.
4) A 2-U case with stereo feet screwed to the bottom looks like a stereo componant, mayhaps an amp.
5) Guests can use the machine intuitively. They already understand how everything works for the most part, they just have to get used to using an IR remote for the computer.
Reasons why Windows isn't a good choice for this:
1) Security. Unless your machine is behind a firewall, I wouldn't recomend it.
2) Umm . . . you want to run Linux.
I've built the box, and am quite impressed with the results. I'll be putting up a page for what to use and blah and blah in about a month, once I've got the faceplate cut and installed.
-Dirk R.
Sure, nobody asked me, but I knew they eventually would.
I know you are after a component system but have you looked at building a CAJUN? Although it is designed for cars (Car Audio Jukebox for UNix), I use it as a home audio component (a HAJUN!).
I have it set up with an IR reciever on a serial port and the display is Crystalfontz 20x4 LCD panel. As for how it fits your requirements:
I built one two years ago and an very happy with it. I am still using the v3 software, v4 may have more features that you requrire. Its worth checking out.