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DIY Ethernet Audio Receiver
geo writes "I created this site to describe my latest toy: a digital audio multicast receiver. LANPipe receives 16-bit, 44.1 kHz audio multicast from a PC based server. The server uses a Winamp plug-in, so LANPipe can play almost any source format (mp3, ogg, uncompressed). It even has a digital audio output. The receiver uses a custom CPU written in VHDL and implemented on a Xilinx FPGA. This was a fun project that is best appreciated by fellow hardware geeks."
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www.audiotron.com
There ya go...
or better yet, if audio quality doesnt mean much to you... find the rio reciever.. it has the crappy cheap radio sound but works just as well and can be had from ebay for cheap.
what you desire has been available for over 2 years, you needed to LOOK for it.
Multiroom audio without having to install wiring. I've got multiroom at home, between the lounge and the kitchen. Great for parties and such like, but it meant having to install wires between the rooms, hiding these was a long task that involved removing sideboards and putting wiring under the floor where possible. It was worth it, it's great to go between rooms and heart the same song playing.
Wireless solves this. My only question is on syncronisation. With multiroom audio, you need perfect timing, otherwise you'll hear an echo from the other room. With wires this isn't a problem, but as this uses packet data transfer, I'd dare say there was some buffering going on.
Sorry about the being slashdotted. We're working on getting that fixed.
I'm a server administrator at the webhosting company that hosts that page. Today (at 1AM) two of our five T-1's went down (Qwest appearantly had a cable cut - bah, force majure). Of all days for our network capacity to be decreased by 40%...
At any rate, we just turned up MaxClients, MinSpareServers, and MaxSpareServers in the apache config. We're going to start really hounding Qwest. We'll get it back up as soon as possible. It is accessable right now, but slow.
Again, apologies.
~Will
Server Administrator,
Netmar inc
sig?
Sorry about the being slashdotted. We're working on getting that fixed.
I'm a server administrator at the webhosting company that hosts that page. Today (at 1AM) two of our five T-1's went down (Qwest appearantly had a cable cut - bah, force majure). Of all days for our network capacity to be decreased by 40%...
At any rate, we just turned up MaxClients, MinSpareServers, and MaxSpareServers in the apache config. We're going to start really hounding Qwest. We'll get it back up as soon as possible. It is accessable right now, but slow.
Again, apologies.
~Will
Server Administrator,
Netmar inc
sig?
About the same thing.
Remote controlled, streams over Ethernet, GPL'd software (Linux, Win, Mac)
250$ - a bit expensive, but I bet the price will come down...
Any sufficiently advanced libertarian utopia is indistinguishable from government.
The LANPipe doesn't run Windows. It doesn't even really run an operating system. It's actually, from the article...
Xilinx Spartan II FPGA (XC2S30) containing:
Custom 8-bit CPU (10 MIPS @ 20MHz) with 16-bit memory interface
64k x 16 hardware FIFO (using external SRAM)
I2S output (to DAC) and SPDIF output (digital audio out)
Hardware timer and RS-232 transmitter (for debug)
Firmware uses fewer than 200 assembly language instructions
Assembler and remote status monitor written in Java
It just accepts a digital audio stream from a pc running windows and winamp, or the prototype "driver" on the linux machine.
Carpe Cerevisi - Seize the Beer
Lan Pipe is very cool, particularly if the house is correcly wired with Cat5.
But what if you don't have wires already? FM is MUCH cheaper!
Uses your existing home FM radios recievers in every room, or your walkman. Simply add one of these to your music server, and no pulling cables.
$39.95 FM solution, or that
$189 FM solution.
First person to say "Knoppix" on slashdot?
Mac Refugee, Paper MCSE, Linux wanna be
I just updated the web site minutes ago: MacWorld show special: $239 with free ground shipping!!
you could add a power over ether net, but you probably would add power hum and other noise
by using the computer's noisy power supply for an audio device.
better would be to include a small power supply, or get power from the audio equipment's power somehow.
even better would be to opto-isolate the ethernet from the audio equipment to further remove any switching power supply hum from the computers.
A computer power supply and an audio power supply are designed for different problems. They might "work"
but it won't be as nice as a supply that fits.