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Yamaha MusicCAST Wireless PCM/MP3 Server
HawKe7 writes "Wireless MP3 in your home? You betcha! Audioholics recently reviewed Yamaha's new MusicCAST Digital Music Server. The MusicCAST can store your entire CD collection in PCM/MP3 formats and stream it wirelessly to clients stationed throughout your home (track, genre and artist info are provided automatically via on-board Gracenote CDDB). Use your imagination... wireless audio throughout the home from a centralized server, digital PCM storage of your entire CD collection, creation of customized playlist CDs with the included CD-R drive... lots of valid uses for this type of tech. The unit is apparently a solid performer (not to mention a FAST CD ripper - just under 5 minutes), with excellent MP3 and PCM audio playback and compatibility with existing 802.11b networks. Though the unit is priced out of reach for some with an MSRP of $2800, it is an impressive system for those who want the latest and the best."
An iBook can do all that for half the price (including the airport card and HD upgrade to 80gigs).
It's less than a fifth the size, and comes with its own VGA so you can use the TV as the display.
Of course, you can also use it for other stuff, but heck, if you want to do other stuff, buy a second one.
Kevin Fox
Cons: Pricey CD burning only works with more expensive audio CD-Rs, not data CD-Rs I figure for that wad of cash it should be able to burn a cd onto small paper plate.
I have a Cig, but do you have a light?
That is a rip off, I don't want to pay for some pricy thing if I am going to have to pay more for CD-Rs!!
-Seriv
Why not use a lossless codec instead of raw PCM? There are several free ones available, including FLAC - which is the most open format.
Please enlighten me if I am wrong, but isn't "digital PCM" redundant?
-Peter
This costs way too much. Hardware for a system like this would run you up to maybe $1200, since you're getting lots of storage and a top of the line sound card, but you don't need a display or a graphics card or anything like that. Then add in software to run an audio streaming app (free), software to run a networked filesystem (free), and software to control it remotely, both over 802.11b and IrDA (free, but proprietary IrDA software might work better). No way this would cost $2800. Nice idea, though. If I had enough money to spare, I might consider building a system like this myself. No way I'd pay $2800 for one, though.
Does it play OGG? Does it run linux? Patents? It better no have any. Can you cluster them? If so, I , for one, welcome our new home stereo overlords.
You can buy a kit for a stereo FM transmitter for about $30 at a store like Fry's. (If you buy the components separately, it'll be even cheaper.) Just hook the thing up to the output of the sound card on your friendly little linux box.
please tell the author of this post to rtfa =) thanks much!!!
"You had this look that of an angel, it was such a bad disguise" --Dishwalla
$2800 is a LOT of money for something so limited in functionality. And Yamaha can't compete with 1:1 personalized service. $1000 for hardware and $1500 profit on an afternoon of work seems like a decent business opportunity to me.
I'm going to wait till one of my friends get one of these things, then I'm going to build some type of deal that lets me break into the freq with a Mr. Microphone and sit outside his house around 3am.
"Brian this is GOD. Quit playing with yourself"
Brian : "It is GOD!"
Why do none of these digital music appliances offer capabilities for analog recording? The PC is a noisy electrical environment and trying to record high-quality audio with a sound card gives poor quality. Why don't these appliances offer high-quality A/D for creating digital content for later streaming (radio, records, TV, etc)? Sounds really useful to me, and none of them do it.
Since I have 3 computers at home, each with a reasonably good sound card + speakers, I thought I'll try streaming music over the LAN using Shoutcast for Winamp.
The idea failed miserably, though. There was always a 5-10 second lag between the music played on the client machines and the server machine. I could never quite figure out why. I tried all sorts of things including reducing the bitrate at which music was being sent over the LAN, assuming that was the overhead...but nope. Haven't ever figured it out till now.
If only this thing came with a cheaper non-wireless version, I'd go get it.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
Buy a couple of SliMP3s and a couple of Linksys Ethernet Bridges, and avoid lost time spent reburning your CD collection. Oh, and save $2400 bucks.
Vincent J. Murphy
Spandex Justice
I didn't know that my old laptop with a decent hard drive and a wireless router was worth $2800!
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
I can do all that with iTunes, and any computer with a CD drive and 802.11.
In point of fact, I *do* do all of that except the wireless part, and that's just because I live in a well wired building.
"The worst tyrannies were the ones where a governance required its own logic on every embedded node." - Vernor Vinge
That's not fast... that's... 74mins/5mis ~ 14x...
If it ripped in 2 minutes, that would be fast.
Now it's just "not slow".
But i guess if the disc starts spinning at +INF rpms to rip at >24x and makes the entire device shake like a washing machine during tumble dry it would freak buyers...so it's a nice tradeoff.
Looking for people to chat about multicopters, coding, music. skype: gtsiros
The world needs more Real Genius references.
And, with an 80GB hard drive in the server, most audiophiles will be looking for a way to hide it in a closet or another room. Did you RTFA?
TiVoCluster...
Multiple TiVos that each can record and playback, and have a common ToDo list and a common "Now Playing". All wirelessly.
You just need the 20 LNB DirecTV Dish.
I have been doing this with my 1999 iMac DV for some time now. Airport card + iTunes 4 + 45 GB HD holding all my music, it also doubles as a filesharing server, WiFi router, and webserver (and many more uncommon usages, too). For a total price of half the $2800 of the Yamaha gizmo.
I agree, though, that my music is digitalized as 192 kbps MP3, not PCM.
Maybe we deserve this world ?
We've become so used to defending our rights to use anything having to do with music that we intinctively use the term "valid uses" at the first opportunity.
Damn you, RIAA!
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
- - - - - - - - - -
sample my google hacks
Check out Prismiq. Supports audio and video (lots of formats - yes divx). Its also extremely hackable, based on Linux - lots of support from the developers on how to hack it, including publishing the communication protocol between the server software and the hardware device.
Hands up who hasn't already built one of these...
.. used.
OMG it's like... we geeks build these things because it just obvious and has to be done and like these big corporations package it for the masses.
I feel so
http://www.leviton.com/sections/prodinfo/newprod/n pleadin.htm
3 /L IN_HScat_StructuredMediaSystems.pdf
http://www.leviton.com/pdfs/lin/LINsections_200
If you can install data jacks you can install this. I can broadcast music and video to almost any room in my house from my computer using CAT5 cable. If I want to broadcast music from my stereo then I just move the input patch cables from the computer jack to the stereo jack. With this setup I could play a Divx file on my computer and literally watch it in every room.
I think it's obscene to make light of people with serious addictions to Audiohol like the site mentioned in this article have. OBSCENE!!!!
it should include a substantial collection of pre-ripped CDs. You know, the "all classical" MP3 collection or the "all Jazz" MP3 collection.
Put you'r money towards a Mac and you will get the same thing plus more. My new dual 2.0GHz G5 system can rip a CD in 4-5 minutes. You can rip to MP3/AAC/AIFF/WAV and it streams through any IP based network, wired or wireless. If audio quality is you're goal, rip to AIFF and use the built in optical audio ports.
I would imaging iTunes beats hands down any interface embeddeded into a dedicated server. Plus OS X is rock solid, so if you really want a device that just rips and streams, throw the system in a closet and forget about it. If you want more for you're money, you've got some of the best hardware and software you're gonna find on this side of the moon.
I'm sure this thing is terrific, but think about you're options. There are alternatives.
-- Fighting mediocrity one bad post at a time.
Hence they don't need to compete with you, nor care about you.
Just buy an Audiotron. It's not wireless but it's only $300. It doesn't support FLAC or shorten but it does support WAV for lossless playback.
Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood. -- H. L. Mencken
The Slimp3 looks interesting BUT I visited the web site and there's no phone number or e-mail... very weird.
It seems like a quality product but its exact function isn't well described. I hate marketing-speak like this:
The SLIMP3 (Slim-'pE-'thrE) Network Music Player is a revolutionary approach to digital music playback. It frees your digital music from your computer so it can be enjoyed throughout your home.
What the f*ck does that mean? Why can't you folks say something like, "it connects to your stereo and decodes music stored on your computer via a network connection". I'm guessing it does this - I don't know - there are no pictures of the reverse of the damn unit on the site that I could find. I still don't exactly know what the hell the damn thing does technically.. aside from turning my previously dismal life into a wonderful nirvana of pleasure.
Word to all you people marketing products... try giving us a decent description, and not making us dive into 100 pages of FAQs just to figure out how your product works!
That's a lot cheaper, easier, and more upgradeable than a $2800 music-only system.
only $35.00 a gig! thanks!
but, i have 2000 cd's, so i guess i only need 4 of these for immediate use... and one for the future!
Hmm,
Well for alot less than this I just have my main Pc hooked up to my soundsystem, then I crank the music, and presto I can hear the music everywhere in my house.... Though it is kind of painful to be anywhere near my pc.. *shrug*
I can't believe it, right on the front of the thing is a little logo that says Gracenote. For those who don't know the history behind Gracenote, here is a quick, really high-level gloss over.
That gloss-over does gloss over some of the more evil details, but it gets to the heart of the matter (you can stop reading once he starts talking about Hamlet).
Gracenote has no ethical right to exist, and thus I will never pay even a cent for a product that uses Gracenote's service, and neither should you.
I did the same thing for about 200 bucks.... 802.11 for the PC's and router (ebay) and moodlogic for the playlists and ID3 tag fixing. With the right permissions, on my LAN, you can browse all of my MP3's and multiple playlists. Why buy a device when you can slap 120GB to the file server for 90 bucks??
It's the same functionality, but with a real design concept behind it
The system has been shipping for months, and was announced and prototypes shown at CEDIA last year.
It's a nice system and worked well. It is larger than it looks in the photos.
I would generally recommend the Audio Request with a house amp though, if you're willing to spend a couple thousand more.
-a.e.mossberg
Does it support Yamaha's TwinVQ audio? If not, I won't even CONSIDER buying it...
I don't understand why every reviewer seems to think that a home audio server needs to stream its content. I would think that the server would just need to be a wire/wireless ethernet disk server which the client would connect to and read as a file system. The audio playing application would simply start reading the audio file, fill up its memory buffer and start playing when it can buffer over any small disk/network interruptions.
The audio server is practically brainless and the client doesn't need much more than winamp/xmms and a LCD screen. For initial configuration make the thing a DHCP client and maybe use a simple webserver for config tasks which would be annoying from an audio component type front panel.
Does ANYONE sell a commercial product that does it my way or similar?
The fucker better clean my toilets while its streaming me music.
Add a used iMac instead and you can play your iTMS purchases.
I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
Has any company manufactured a box that just accepts streamed music from iTunes using Rendezvous and WiFi?
Seems like that ought to be simple enough to build. This would also have the benefit of being able to stream iTunes Music Store files without having to re-rpi them into MP3. An iPod-like interface on a remote would be enough to control the component without having to resort to a video output.
Now with iTunes for Windows there might actually be a market for this.
Is it just me, or are Slashdot articles getting more and more like advertisements every day?
I guess I'm in the minority because I just can't agree with the "just use a PC" crowd. PCs are noisy (unless you throw a lot of money at the problem), ugly (ditto) and just don't belong in a home theater rack IMHO.
I like this idea because it looks and operates like a home theater component as well as acting as a server. For example, I can use a remote control, and it has a display and buttons ON THE UNIT so I don't necessarily need to use a TV/monitor in order to use the box.
Aside from the fact that it is overpriced, the only thing that kills it for me is that you need one of their clients to access it remotely. If the box had some sort of remote filesystem support, I could use PCs as clients, and I wouldn't have to re-rip my 350+ disc CD collection - just copy the files over.
If they give it remote filesystem support and perhaps drop the price (or at least don't force me to buy one client with it - which I believe is the source of the $2200/$2800 MSRP confusion), then I'm sold.
...the first cluster on the hd breaks.
I could be wrong. I'm always wrong...
Why would anyone with a PC buy one of these spendy Yamaha units when they could buy something like this for $200 and use their computer as a massive MP3 server? It's wireless, supports playlists, and doesn't even require a display (which is a huge plus - who wants to hear the whine of a television set while they're trying to listen to music?).
is linux + gnump3d + ripit.pl + LAME. Nothings easier to create mp3s with than the little perl script ripit.pl. Just pop in a cd and type "ripit" at the command line. Gnump3d (www.gnump3d.org) is really easy for a novice to install. Just add a wireless access point to the mix and voila! wireless music library!
This sig kills fascists.
I just bought this cd3o device c300. It allows me to stream multiple formats to my stereo system wirelessly (802.11b), which the device converts to PCM for transmission via Toslink or coaxial. The only drawback is that it only runs on Windows, but I thought I saw some folks working on a Linux solution using the same hardware.... Of course, your music collection can still exist on a Linux box. Just share it out to the Windows box via Samba. There are some minor physical design issues, but nothing I wasn't able to deal with. So far so good. Sven
MP3-Box-HOWTO, MP3 Player Box HOWTOm l
:)
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/MP3-Box-HOWTO.ht
Describes how to build, configure, install, and use a custom MP3 player box. It lists the necessary hardware and answers a number of frequently asked questions.
Add Wireless NIC to MP3 Player Box. It's more fun to build things yourself and running linux on it isnt really bad at all.
We seem to be heading towards a situation where specific devices with limited capabilities are more expensive than pc's that do the same.
I'm waiting for Apple to create their iCenter or whatever they'll call their digital media center (Because I'm sure they'll make one). Something that has all the qualities of the PC (like multi-purpose) without all the downsides of the PC, that "just works".
Something like a headless Mac, more like an iPod and more, except it's something you'd like to place in your stereo or instead of your VCR. But I think they're waiting, because the market isn't quite ready yet. But once you start having Mac fans with large iTMS libraries, I'm sure it'll come.
Kjella
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
I already have this in my house. The ingredients are:-
:)
:-/
:)
For the storage/music serving:-
1xLinux server in attic.
For the ripping and encoding:-
CDparanoia (rip)
Lame (encode)
FreeDB (track lookup)
Grip (Really effective GUI to control the above
For the playback:-
2xsliMP3 players http://www.slimp3.org
And a Linksys WET11 for each device to make it wireless (plugs into existing 10/100base ports).
Grip will create the directory strcuture on the fly however you want it (Mine is artist/disc/tracks) and the Slimp3 software will use the ID3 tags to create lists according to genre, band etc although this does of couse depnd on the somewhat inconsistent quality of the data in the FreeDB database
The Slimp3 players come with a nice Perl based web interface and streaming server. You can control the players from the web interface or with the remotes. You can even syncronise all the players on your network
Sorry that link should be http://www.slimp3.com
Check out the Linux MediaServer - there is a server available for Linux. No UI yet, but Rob Flickenger made a nice perl script to catalog your media files for the MediaPlayer.