DIY Ethernet Audio Receiver

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Posted by michael on Wednesday January 8, 2003 @02:53AM from the fly-by-wire dept.

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."

14 of 216 comments (clear)

Slashdotted by vjmurphy · 2003-01-08 02:56 · Score: 4, Funny

"This was a fun project that is best appreciated by fellow hardware geeks."

Not appreciated nearly as much as Web servers than can handle a Slashdotting.

--
Vincent J. Murphy
Spandex Justice
1. Re:Slashdotted by zerocool^ · 2003-01-08 03:38 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  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?
Comment removed by account_deleted · 2003-01-08 02:59 · Score: 5, Informative

Comment removed based on user account deletion
Re:I love you guys by Peter+Simpson · 2003-01-08 03:04 · Score: 5, Insightful

How can you say it's of no interest to potential employers? This guy has demonstrated his expertise with Xilinx design, and, last time I looked, that was a marketable skill.
Cool but not.... by Lumpy · 2003-01-08 03:05 · Score: 4, Insightful

Okl it's cool, but for $100.00 in parts? it makes just buying an audiotron from turtle beach look nicer.. i can have 30 audiotrons playing 30 different things all from my samba server or even that legacy OS called windows.

I understand the part of doing it for the learning fun and the "I DID IT" factor.. but overall it's pricey for what it is, and doesnt seem to be too open source so that I can duplicate it.

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
1. Re:Cool but not.... by nehril · 2003-01-08 03:33 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  totally dude. I mean... why spend $100 for networked audio when you could buy a $300 audiotron that does the same thing?
  
  and you're right on about it not being open source. Until I can download the actual hardware for free, I'm sticking with my trusty Audiotron distro.
Very slick.. by Garion911 · 2003-01-08 03:06 · Score: 5, Interesting

I like this.. This would solve many of the problems I have with putting a computer near my stereo.. I don't have any space near it... SOmething small like this would be very very cool..

One feature I would like to see is the possiblilty of "multiple channels", so that I could stream several channels at once.. So my GF, who likes country, can listen in the livingroom, and I can listen to my stuff in the basement, without having a computer at each location...

--John

--
Slashdot is like Playboy: I read it for the articles
Related to NCD's NAS? by forged · 2003-01-08 03:09 · Score: 4, Interesting

Network Audio System has been around for as long as I remember.. Some pretty good pages here and here. In the case of NAS the hardware decoder is in the workstation.
Pretty cool by URSpider · 2003-01-08 03:10 · Score: 5, Interesting
This is a pretty elegant solution for how to get your MP3 collection from your computer to your stereo(s). Think about it -- you can have your own radio station at your house. Add a wireless uplink, and you can carry it around with you. All for only $100! Made into a commercial product with an ASIC instead of an FPGA, you could probably put it on the commercial market for well under $200.

Slashdotters, before you slam this thing, please consider the following facts:
- not everyone has a spare PC or two lying around the house
- some people DON'T have their PC sitting in the middle of their family room, right next to the stereo.
- people value elegance
1. Re:Pretty cool by lfourrier · 2003-01-08 04:00 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Add a wireless uplink, and you can carry it around with you
  
  If the geek value is not the main point, you can hook a small FM transmitter to your sound card and use standard FM receiver all around the house.
  I'm quite sure that with sufficiently low power, it can be used unlicenced all over the world(check your local legislation).
  
  It is not high-tech, but it could do the job for cheap, reusing existing infrastructure (the stereo). And if your Os can manage many souncards, you can transmit using different frequencies, for different music programs.
Re:I love you guys by kevin42 · 2003-01-08 03:11 · Score: 5, Insightful

I hate to respond to such an obvious troll....but...

A project like this is very valuable. For one thing, it makes a great hobby. How much time does the average moron spend watching NFL? Take that time over a year and you can create some pretty cool (and valuable in many ways) technology. Even if nobody other than yourself ever uses it, it has value.

What is the value? Although you claim that employers don't care, it is projects like this that have made my career. I'm currently employed, making a decent living as an engineer, even though I have no degree (working on it still at age 29.95). I got a job offer from one of those top 100 employers who was looking for an engineer with a masters degree because they were so impressed with my portfolio of hardware/software projects I had 'hacked' together on my own. I actually didn't take the job because I was interested in pursuing a different job offer I got because of some software I had written and published online as a hobby. It got me attention, and the offers literally came pouring in.

If you are unemployed, by all means spend most of your time looking for a job....but there is a lot of value in showing that you are smart enough and motivated enough (even more rare) to complete a project like this on your own.

So you can go back to watching NFL while the rest of us do something useful.
Re:I love you guys by TonyMillion · 2003-01-08 03:22 · Score: 5, Funny

Please go buy a suit, print out your resumes, and start smiling at people. You need jobs folks, and they don't grow on trees.

I'm an apple picker, my job does grow on trees you insensitive bastard.
Sorry about the slashdotting. by zerocool^ · 2003-01-08 03:35 · Score: 4, Informative

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?
Heard of SLIMP3? by infolib · 2003-01-08 03:38 · Score: 5, Informative

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.