Category: Music & Audio
July 14, 2008
Brilliant New Use for Noise-Cancelling Headphones: Mowing the Grass
Back in March, I reviewed the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Noise-Cancelling Headphones (shown). I've continued enjoying them whenever I fly, as they greatly reduce the stress and fatigue I usually get when traveling on an airplane.
Tonight, however, I discovered a more mundane, and therefore, more useful, application for these noise-silencing cans: transforming the chore of grass-mowing into a nearly pleasurable activity.
While they can't eradicate the mower's noise entirely...it's just too overwhelming...the combination of (a) the over-the-ear seals, and (b) the noise-canceling technology effectively drops the drone of the mower to easily tolerable levels. In fact, while I usually struggle to hear the radio over the mower when using my jogging headphones, even at top volume, I was easily able to listen in total comfort at only 60% volume when wearing the Audio-Technicas.
So, if you have a pair of NC headphones, give this a shot and let me know if you notice a difference. And if you don't already have a set, and you mow the grass on occasion, go grab some...your ears will be thankful.
Posted by Craig in Music & Audio
and Other
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June 5, 2008
Mitch's Hot/Not List
Mitch, seeing my Hot/Not list from yesterday, compiled his own, so here it is:
HOT
- iPod Touch - I tried the Archos 605 Wi-Fi first and its mediocrity makes the Touch that much more delightful. I really love well done user interfaces and this one is first rate. My only complaint is its picky eating habits when it comes to video formats.
- iMac - I waited longer than any other tech purchase to finally go with Apple's all-in-one desktop PC. I opted for the top of the line 3.06 GHz 24" model and have been completely blown away by it. So far I have found no flaws. It is stunning.
- High Gas Prices - Innovation rocks and if it takes $5/gallon gasoline to get us out of this oil addiction then I'm more than willing to pay my dues. Fewer SUVs and pickups, electric cars, solar energy, alternative fuels, more big butts on bicycles, less traffic congestion; I'm all for it. Let's drop our consumption by half and let OPEC drink their devalued crude.
- Synology - A NAS will soon be as ubiquitous on a home network as the router is today. The clever, feature-filled offerings from Synology are the best of the breed. I'll have a DS508 please!
- Subaru - Totally agree with Craig here. I've been
in Imprezas now going on six years and I still feel like I'm cheating when I share the road with normal cars. Scoobys are fabulous.
- Ken Follett's Historical Novels - "The Pillars of the Earth" and "World Without End" are two of my favorite books of all time and I just took them in this Spring. I listened to both on my iPod (over 40 hours each) after downloading them from Audible and they made a month of 1000 mile weekly commutes totally enjoyable. Masterful stuff.
- CrossFit - I was in good shape 20 years ago and at 44 I can wipe the floor with my 24 year old self (if that was possible). I've been CrossFitting for almost a year now and some of the things I can do now would have seemed outlandish back then.
NOT
- General Motors - If you Google dinosaur, out of touch, lethargic, and unimaginative you should pull up GM's home page. I used to be a fan, but they have been disappointing me for 25 years now and don't seem to be planning any big changes. The sooner they finish themselves off, the better off we'll be.
- Labor Unions - Working in the industrial world I cross paths with unions
of all sorts way more than I would like. I completely understand why our manufacturing sector is fleeing to other countries. I have never seen such a lazy, selfish, destructive, regressive bunch of people in my life. They can't all be like that, but the ones I've met surely are.
- Sheeple-Filled Corporate IT Departments - My 26,000 strong corporation is going to switch to Vista because they don't want to be left with no anti-virus support for their XP platform. Goodbye nice warm frying pan and hello fire.
- Cable/Satellite TV - I'm SO tired of paying $80 a month for a bunch of
garbage that I would never watch even if I had the time. It won't be long until I cut that cord and start rolling my own TV. If I could just decide which way I want to do it!
- Global Markets - I realize that even the lowliest trader in/on most investment banks/trading floors/commodities exchanges is smarter than I am, but I would really love to see them use those brains rather than run with every emotion that riffles through the world markets. Do investors even pay attention to P/E ratios or supply and demand or is it all about what the hot analyst is saying or the sheeple are doing?
Posted by Craig in Cars
and Computing
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and Home A/V
and Industry
and Internet
and Mobile & PDAs
and Movies & Books
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and Science & Nature
and Society / Politics
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March 13, 2008
Logitech Squeezebox Duet Wireless Music System: The Unboxening
We just got a Logitech Squeezebox Duet, the new low(er)-cost competitor to the rather amazing Sonos wireless music streaming system, and I thought I'd post some shots of its debut at our house.
We got the Squeezebox primarily to replace the SMC Networks EZ-Stream SMCWAA-G that no longer seems to want to work properly (I constantly have to unplug it and plug it back in repeatedly when starting it up before it will recognize the network and respond to remote control signals). But then sometimes even a bargain is worth less than what you pay for it.
At $399, the Squeezebox Duet certainly isn't cheap, but it's still $200 less than a comparable Sonos setup. Plus, unlike the Sonos, the Squeezebox benefits from Slim Devices' (which Logitech acquired in late 2006) rabid developer community, so there's tons of nifty extensions and add-ons.
Click on the "continue reading" link for more pics and some initial reactions in lieu of a full review.
After a few hours of use, I'm very, very impressed. The Duet is a really powerful way to control your music. It is amazingly flexible in its ability to handle a variety of music sources (iTunes, raw files, etc.) and to be customized per your preferences (it took me 20 minutes just to explore all the options in the Settings menu on the Controller).
Beyond the wide variety of online music services it supports (e.g., Rhapsody, Pandora, Slacker, etc.), the Squeezebox also has some nifty tricks up its sleeves. You can set the Controller to download and display photos from Flickr (yours, someone else's or random pics) when it's not being handled. It also has an accelerometer inside so it comes back to life when you pick it up (a nice touch). And, if that weren't enough, you can add both Controllers and Receivers to your wireless network and operate any Receiver from any Controller, or sync up all the Receivers to play the same content. At just $150 for each added Receiver, you can outfit a large house for far less than you could using Sonos' products.
So far, I'd have to say I like what I see. If you want to check out the Squeezebox's complete specs, along with a demo movie, head over to Slim Devices' website. More as I know it...
Posted by Craig in Home A/V
and Music & Audio
and Wireless
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February 17, 2008
Archos 605 WiFi Portable Media Player
The 605 WiFi, a fifth-generation portable media player from the French electronics firm Archos, is an impressive device. It boasts a vivid, high-res 4.3" touchscreen, 802.11g Wi-Fi (more on that later), and the ability to handle a reasonably broad array of media formats (although the larger, more expensive Cowon A3 handles far more). Plus, the 605 WiFi is available with hard drives of 30, 80, and 160 gigabytes or with 4GB of flash storage (the flash model also sports an SDHC slot for unlimited expansion). This review focuses on the 4GB flash version, which can be had for under $200 online and at a few brick-and-mortar electronics retailers.
After using the 605 WiFi for about two weeks now, I've come to appreciate it quite a bit. It's certainly not perfect, but it offers good value and some of its attributes that seem like weaknesses at first blush actually turn out to be strengths.
The Physical Unit
The 605 is 4.8'' x 3.2'' x 0.6'', about the same overall dimensions as an old PalmPilot, which is fairly compact for having such a large screen. The 4GB flash model weighs in at 5.3 ounces (the hard drive units weigh more, up to 9.2 oz. for the 160GB). The buttons to the right of the screen are two-way toggles (one function on each side, left and right), which take some getting used to. Thankfully, the touchscreen makes using the buttons unnecessary (although they're preferable in a few situations, such as changing volume). Two hardware buttons on the top of the unit include On/Off and a button to send video out via the docking station (when attached). The SDHC card slot is also on the top (nicely recessed so as to avoid any chance of accidental card eject). On the left is the headphone jack, and on the right is the pull-out kickstand (a very nice touch). The bottom of the unit has Archos' proprietary connector (which, of course, requires Archos' proprietary USB cable or dock to attach to it). The unit charges and syncs data through these connectors. The front also includes a very loud, clear mono speaker. The back is completely plain. In a departure from the 4th generation units, the 605 does not offer a user-swappable battery. But none of that really matters, for the 605's pièce de résistance is its screen. This 800x480 resolution beauty is simply stunning. It has an amazing angle of view and, at over 200 pixels per inch, gives every bit of clarity and detail you could hope for. Colors are well-saturated and there's no hint of screendoor or other effects that low-quality LCDs can have. Everyone I've showed this to has remarked almost immediately how good the display is. In the box, the 605 comes with headphones, a USB cable, a rudimentary slip-case, and some documentation.
The User Interface
You may have read somewhere (OK, everywhere) that the Archos user interface is terrible. It's not quite terrible...just very bad. But, I'm happy to say that (a) the touchscreen makes it a LOT easier to navigate, and (b) once you get used to certain conventions, it really isn't that bad (certainly no worse than Office 2007's new menu structure!). For example, the [X] button always takes you backwards (or back up a level) from wherever you are. Some have contrasted the 605 with the iPod Touch and come away saying the Touch is easier to use. I agree...for one main reason: the 605 has way, way more options, settings, and customizability than does the Touch, and all that requires a bit more complexity in the menus. For example, you can separately set the gamma, contrast, brightness, and backlight level of the 605's screen. The Touch, by comparison, doesn't even know what gamma is. So, if customizability is a desirable thing for you, the 605 will have you covered. But, if you're afraid of menus, then it may be a bit daunting until you read through the manual (a few times).
Media Performance
Overall, media playback is superb. Audio quality is high and videos look and sound awesome (even ones where the 605 has to up- or down-res to match the screen's resolution). The audio interface provides all the tag-based organization you'd expect -- Artist, Album, Genre, etc. -- with full album art support. The video interface even has nifty full-motion thumbnails, which is nice. Out of the box, the unit supports a variety of common formats (such as MP3, WMA, MPEG-4, WMV, and others; see the product webpage for complete info). Additional media formats (e.g., h.264 and MPEG-2) are supported through extra-cost plug-ins. One comment about the plug-ins: Archos takes the controversial approach of charging a fairly rock-bottom price for the hardware, but then charged non-trivial sums for plug-ins that provide additional functionality, such as the web browser ($30). If you don't need these plug-ins, then you'll likely feel like your 605 is a true bargain out of the box. However, if you do need several of the plug-ins, your sense of value will be diminished significantly. In the end, my feeling is that the 605 with all the plug-ins is competitively priced, just not the huge bargain it is bare-bones.
A couple of nifty things about media playback include the use of bookmarks (locations within individual files to go back to from the main screen) and playback at 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1X, 2X, and 4X normal speed. Plus, when playing back video, you get several options on how you want the video to be fit to the dimensions of the 650's 1.67:1 aspect screen (which is nice if you're picky about that like I am). Also, when viewing photos, you can use touchscreen actions to manipulate the images: a single swipe left-to-right (or right-to-left) advances to the next (previous) image; a swipe up (down) rotates the image counter-clockwise (clockwise); and holding your finger on a point on the image causes the 605 to zoom into the image until it reaches 100% resolution. A quick double-tap of the screen or a tap of the [X] button returns you to normal view.
Other Functions
Nobody buys a PMP mainly for web-browsing capabilities; that's always an afterthought. Thankfully, the 605's Opera-based browser is quite good. It provides Flash compatibility (for playing streaming video, such as from YouTube) and tabbed browsing (an Opera trademark). Rendering performance is so-so, but the screen's resolution means that typical pages are readable without a lot of side-scrolling. You cannot rotate the screen, so as long as you're OK with viewing webpages in landscape, you won't be disappointed.
The built-in 802.11g Wi-Fi is quite handy. The 605 not only includes a standard file management utility, it also lets you move and copy files from one location to another on your 605 and between your 605 and a computer elsewhere on the network you're on. Plus, it will stream media from locations on the network to the 605. I was able to watch an entire movie streamed wirelessly from a PC to the 605 without a single hitch...and it looked great! Fast-forward and rewind don't work when streaming, but pause does. Also, the 605 will talk to any UPnP media server active on the network, so if you're running Orb or TwonkyVision or something like that, the 605 will happily stream from it. You can also buy or rent content online through CinemaNow directly via the 605, which might be handy if you're stuck in an airport without a laptop and absolutely gotta have something to watch to pass the time.
Finally, the 605 offers a set of other functions that are nice touches. An Acrobat PDF viewer is included. Firmware updates can be done either via USB (after downloading to the PC from the Archos website) or directly to the 605 itself via Wi-Fi. If you purchase the additional DVR (digital video recording) dock and hook it up to a cable or antenna feed (via something else, though, as the dock only has S-Video and RCA inputs), you can schedule your 605 to record TV shows straight to MPEG-4. Of course, you can also record line-in audio and video as well, but that's not quite as trick as having your 605 emulate a mini-TiVo.
Conclusions
Overall, I like the 605 enough that I elected to keep it. It does what it does very well and tosses in some extra tricks in a fairly well-polished package. Sure, it has some rough spots -- the menu system and buttons are still a bit nutty and the codec support could be more extensive -- but it has met my rather modest needs 100%. Battery life is fair; I get about 4-4.5 hours of video playback on a charge (without Wi-Fi). I wish the unit had a regular USB port and that some of the codecs were included rather than handled via plug-ins, but these are all nitpicky details. The main thing that really matters, and the primary reason I'm happy with it, is the gorgeous screen. One look, and it was a done deal.
I'm sure I haven't covered everything here, so if you have questions about the 605, please ask.
Update: Mitch wrote in with a few comments and clarifications (thanks, mate!):
Very in-depth. A few things I would add:Existence of the mini dock and battery dock. These will allow direct interface to USB disk drives and industry standard cables. They also give you the ability to keep the unit playing indefinitely as they allow more charging current from external battery packs.
The Archos file manager will also allow you to move files between two other computers on your network. Nice if you're already in bed and remember that you need to put something on your laptop for the next day.
The MPEG-2 plug-in activates the digital audio out for 5.1 AC-3 surround sound.
Also includes 2 styli (yay!)
The DVR dock turns it into an Apple TV with a screen allowing you to wirelessly play content to your big screen as well as browse the web, rent or buy videos, etc.
Update #2: A few other things that occurred to me after I finished up the review:
- SD card reading/writing via the 605 is much slower than it is via a card reader, so only use it for that in an emergency.
- The unit is mostly stable except when updating the firmware. Both times I've updated it, it's reset itself and/or behaved weirdly until after I did a full shutdown (complete "off" versus the "standby" mode it typically resorts to when you hit the Power button).
- The browser is quite good, actually. If you've used Opera on one of the Nokia Internet Tablets, you'll know what I mean (same res screen).
- Charging the 605 via the USB cable is sloooow; it takes 5-6 hours to go from empty to a full charge. Charging it via A/C using one of the docks Archos sells, however, takes about half that time. So, getting a dock has benefits beyond just a bigger variety of outputs and inputs.
- Accessing the bookmarking feature from the main screen only works on the most recently played file, so you can't easily jump between videos or songs without manually selecting each and entering into the menus to go to where you left off before.
Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs and Movies & Books and Music & Audio and Technology and Travel and Wireless
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December 28, 2007
Most Popular Media on Peer-to-Peer Networks
Wired has an interesting article that shows the media (recording artists, TV shows, and movies) most popular on the P2P networks (i.e., BitTorent). I was surprised...surprised by (a) two of my favorite shows were on the list, and (b) I'd heard of nearly nothing on the music list. I guess aging has its consequences, eh?
Anyway, here are the lists (for the full details, check out the Wired story):
Top Songs of 2007
1. Shop Boyz - "Party Like A Rock Star"
2. Akon - "I Wanna Luv U"
3. Sean Kingston - "Beautiful Girls"
4. Mims - "This Is Why I'm Hot"
5. Akon - "Don't Matter"
6. T-Pain - "Bartender"
7. Soulja Boy - "Crank Dat Soulja Boy"
8. Justin Timberlake - "My Love"
9. DJ Unk - "Walk It Out"
10. Jim Jones - "We Fly High"Top Music Artists of 2007
1. T.I.
2. T-Pain
3. Akon
4. 50 Cent
5. R. Kelly
6. Lil Wayne
7. Justin Timberlake
8. Fergie
9. Ludacris
10. Snoop DoggTop Movies of 2007
1. Resident Evil: Extinction
2. Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End
3. I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
4. Ratatouille
5. Superbad
6. Beowulf
7. Transformers
8. American Gangster
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
10. StardustTop TV Shows of 2007
1. Heroes
2. Prison Break
3. Top Gear
4. Smallville
5. Desperate Housewives
6. House, M.D.
7. Lost
8. Grey's Anatomy
9. 24
10. Dexter
Posted by Craig in Industry and Internet and Movies & Books and Music & Audio and Popular Media and Society / Politics
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October 9, 2007
Some Recent New Gear Additions
I've not posted about much technology recently. For that, I truly apologize. This is, after all, GearBits. So, to fill that void, here's a brief recap of some gadget and gear acquisitions over the last six months or so (and why they're my picks).GPS: Garmin Nuvi 370
After borrowing Mitch's Garmin for a recent roadtrip to the Smoky Mountains, I was hooked. The Nuvi 370 is a terrific combination of features and portability. Text-to-speech keeps my eyes on the road and the bright screen and simple menu system makes it an easy-to-use travel aid. Plus, it's small and light enough to take with you on a walkabout, as I did recently when hiking around San Francisco.
TV: Samsung LNT-5271F 52" 1080p LCD
Yeah, this is a bit over-the-top, but I told my wife that I reserved the right to redo the basement TV setup if I got my promotion at work (I did). So far, it's a really nice TV. The first one died on me (the screen went weird a week into the relationship), but this second one is doing fine. Discovery HD Theater has never been more impressive, although crappy SD cable channels now look just as crappy, but bigger. Now I just need to start working on a way to justify getting a Blu-Ray/HD DVD combo player.
A/V Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR705
As part of the upgrade of the basement TV area, our old receiver just had to be replaced. It was ca. 1996, so its idea of "A/V" meant two composite video inputs. The Onkyo is a nice balance between performance (100W x 7 and 3 HDMI inputs + upconversion) and bulk. It definitely is more capable than the Yamaha it replaced (although the Yamaha still sounds great).DVD Player: Oppo DV-981HD
The new TV quickly showed just how awful our previous DVD player was. I shouldn't have been surprised, really. After all, it was a Sony VHS + progressive scan DVD combo unit that I got from Woot.com for like $40 last year. Man, the video signal it put out, even over component, just made my eyes bleed. The Oppo, on the other hand, makes standard-definition DVDs look really quite excellent, even converting them to 1080p and outputting via HDMI. Its video-processing circuitry is optimized for getting the best possible picture quality off those 480p discs we all know and love. And it's way cheaper than a high-def DVD player.
Media Streamer: DivX Connected (Beta)
I was invited to be part of the public beta of the DivX Connected wireless/wired media streamer concept platform that the DivX folks are currently refining in preparation for licensed production with D-Link. Suffice to say that it's a really nice user experience; much, much better than all of the other media streamers I've used that are supposed to handle video. I hope DivX and D-Link do well with it...I'd definitely consider buying one.Networking: TRENDnet TEG-S80TXE Gigabit 8-Port Switch
I know, wired networking is a little tame, but when you can get a reliable, all-metal, 8-port Gbit switch for $23 (after Newegg.com rebate), it's worth noting.Oh, and I've found that MonoPrice.com has some terrific quality cables and audio parts (e.g., speaker mounts) at really excellent prices. Shipping is fast and cheap, too.
So, that about wraps it up for now. Any questions about these items, feel free to post a comment.
Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio and Popular Media and Technology and Travel
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September 21, 2007
Microsoft Zune Officially Jumps the Shark
At least according to woot!, who is once again offering the much-maligned Zune at its lowest price to date...just $129.99. That's even lower than the very impressive $149.99 they had less than a month ago.
Check out today's woot! entry for a Steve Jobs iPhone rebate parody as well...terrific stuff.
Posted by Craig in Industry and Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio
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August 22, 2007
A Sure Sign that Zune Is a Loser?
A little less than a year ago, Microsoft launched its iPod competitor, the Zune, for $250.
Within 7 months, the price had fallen under $200. Now, 4 months later, the Zune is $150 and being sold through Woot.com, the online equivalent of the Dollar Store.
I think it's safe to say the Zune wasn't exactly a home run.
Of course, an alternate explanation is that Zune version 2 is on its way and Microsoft is just clearing out the last of its old inventory through a lower-visibility channel. We shall see...
Update: Turns out that Woot had 6300 units and sold all of them over a 21-hour period. Seems demand for Zunes might be fairly elastic.
Posted by Craig in Industry and Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio
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May 1, 2007
Ziova Clearstream CS510 HD Network Media Player
This is a review of the new Ziova Clearstream CS510 High-Definition Network Media Player. Ziova (nee Zensonic), a small Australian consumer electronics firm, announced this puppy at CES 2007, but just recently (i.e., last week) started shipping units out for review. After I submitted a review request to the company a few months ago, one landed on my doorstep on Friday and I put it through its paces over the past few days. Here are some initial thoughts.
First, what it is. The CS510 is a home A/V appliance that streams/plays content located on your home network (via Ethernet or 802.11b/g) or attached storage (USB 2.0) to your home theater (TV and/or stereo system). The CS510 differentiates itself from the unwashed masses of network media streamers by virtue of a few unique (or uncommon) features:
• It serves up HD-quality video output (720p and 1080i) and 5.1 surround sound
• It has the ability to play content directly from an attached mass storage device (i.e., no PC is needed to decode the content)
• It offers up Windows network browsing via SMBI will not enumerate the unit's specs here because that information is available from the Ziova website: overview, features, and reasonably complete technical specs
Below are some photos of the CS510 hardware and screen shots of its on-screen interface and output (if some of the screen shots look a little off-kilter or skewed, realize that I simply took handheld snapshots of the TV...the CS510's output was always completely orthogonal ;-):
The box. Sturdy enough for a 21-lb toddler to stand on.
Inside the box. This is definitely not Apple-style packaging here.
Contents. From upper left is: power cable, CS510, composite audio/video cable (wha?), installation CD (UPnP software, manual, etc.), Ethernet cable, remote control and batteries (woot!), and very decent printed user manual. A single USB 2.0 port is located on the front of the unit (why not one on the back, too?) along with the display and power button.
Rear ports. Most everything you might need.
The unit's serial number and both MACs are pre-printed on the user manual, a nice touch.
The remote is decent: big, squishy buttons, mostly in the right place, and a grippy texture.
Startup splash screen. Re-booting takes about 1 minute.
Main menu.
Main music menu. This allows you to select the source of the content you want to play (similar screen is used in Photos and Video). You cannot pull content from multiple sources (e.g., USB drive and a network share) during a single playback session.
List of folders (in this case, artists) containing music on a network share. And before you critique my taste in music, some of that is my wife's (all the non-cool stuff...yeah...that's it).
Video setup. Extensive options available for playback and output depending on what is hooked up to the unit's A/V ports.
Screen-shot of 720p output (this is shown on a 43" Samsung 720p DLP set) of an upconverted near-VGA-resolution (624x352, 132 kbps) Xvid file. I know it's impossible to get much information from this because it's a 600-pixel image down-rezzed from a 5MP digital camera image of a 720p TV's output of an upconverted stream of a compressed, resized video file transcoded from a recording of an OTA HDTV source. Suffice to say that the on-screen image quality was very, very good given the limitations of the file it was playing.
Another shot of different source material (640x352, 215kbps Xvid).
Yet another source material (640x288, 192kbps Xvid). The reason I didn't bother testing HD content as an input is that (a) I didn't have anything on hand better than 480p that was DRM-free (this unit doesn't handle DRM-laden HD video content), and (b) I assumed it would look better anyway (less upconversion going on). For me, the true test was how well it displayed the same content I play on my Treo and laptop when out and about.
Fast-forward 8X (see upper left of screen). FFWD goes up to 32X (way better than 11).
The dreaded hourglass...get used to this as you'll be seeing it a lot (more on that below).
Wha?! But...you were playing it perfectly well just a moment ago...
Yes, a weather channel (just in case you can't get the weather on your TV, your phone, your game console, your PDA, your laptop, or your AM/FM radio).THE GOOD:
The unit has many desirable qualities, including:• Upconverted video quality is excellent. Even VGA-resolution MPEG-4 looks quite good at 720p (what I tested). Sound quality seems good, although I will be the first to admit that I do not have an audiophile's ear (all our MP3 music is encoded at 160kbps or 192kbps anyway).
• Hardware offers good connectivity and lots of flexibility. Network connection can be wired (although not Gigabit Ethernet) or wireless (802.11g/b). The A/V outputs provided represent what most people would need/want. There are multiple ways of getting content into the unit, including UPnP media server, direct network share browsing, connected mass storage, and (in the case of music) Internet streams. Lots of options should satisfy nearly everyone.
• Massively compatible with DRM-free content. The device decodes and/or streams nearly every common audio and video format. I know of no device short of a full PC that can handle such a wide variety of formats.
• Menu system easy to navigate and understand.
• Direct network content navigation via Windows SMB means that you can play content on the network without running TwonkyVision or any other media server software. That's a very handy feature and sets the standard for other network media players in terms of accessibility.
• The remote feels good. It has a rubbery coating very similar to that on good D-SLR cameras.
• Future promise. The unit seems capable of doing a lot of interesting and useful things. The weather channel seems like a preview of that. Plus, firmware upgrades could resolve a lot of the things that weren't so appealing about this unit...
THE BAD:
In my opinion, there are several ways the unit fails to live up to my expectations or could stand improvement, such as:• For all but the most basic use, you need to use the TV to interact with your music collection. There are no navigation buttons on the CS510 itself and the unit's front display, which only shows a single line of 12 characters, is quite irritating to use as the only means of navigation. Scrolling through options is much slower when you can't see a few items ahead. This makes it a relatively poor audio player (at least compared to the reasonable 4-line display on the SMC EZ-Stream) since there's really little reason to have the TV on when you're just listening to music (and many reasons to want it off). Some may find a 1-line display adequate; I did not.
• Sloooooow, especially when managing large media collections like ours. Our music collection includes some 16,000+ tracks, and bringing up a menu of all artist folders via the network took roughly 5 minutes. Doing the same task via USB took almost 3 minutes. That's unusable in my opinion. Plus, there are lots of little delays, like the 5-6 seconds between pushing the remote's "Menu" button and the main menu actually appearing on screen, which further impair the user experience.
• Can be flaky when interacting with UPnP servers other than TwonkyVision (e.g., likes to lock up when trying to get content via Orb). To be fair, Ziova doesn't claim that the CS510 will work with Orb, so that's probably an unfair and inappropriate complaint. I only mention it because many people have their favorite UPnP server software and don't want to have to switch to something else if they don't have to.
• Fast-foward and Rewind on streaming video takes FOREVER to actually engage. Hitting FFWD twice on the remote to go to 4X forward resulted in the video pausing for 57 seconds before it actually started fast-fowarding. I asked the Ziova rep about this and he basically pointed to the limitations of the Sigma EM8620L chipset that handles most heavy lifting done by the CS510. That chipset contains a rather meager 166MHz processor (!), only 64MB of RAM, and is neither upgradeable nor can it address any additional external memory. So, the unit is less responsive than ideal and you get situations like this. Ziova did engineer in both a "seek" feature and a "skip ahead X seconds" feature to help overcome this FFWD/RWD malaise, but they aren't exact substitutes.
• Exiting from 16X and 32X FFWD (by hitting Play) often results in the player locking up. The only recourse I found in that situation is to cycle the power.
• Inconsistent 802.11 connectivity. The CS510 often lost connection to our router despite the router sitting just 3 feet away from the unit (it was the only device in network to exhibit that issue). The Ziova rep said this was an issue they were currently working on and should be resolved in a future firmware update.
• No detailed media information shown in lists. For example, no ID3 tag info (e.g., year, artist, genre, album, etc.) is displayed for MP3 tracks when scanning through lists of songs.
• Currently no way to concoct a playlist of music on the device itself. Moreover, content can't be streamed from multiple sources in the same session (e.g., you cannot tell the CS510 to intersperse music from a USB directory and a network share during the same continuous play session; instead, you must play content from one source, switch sources, and then play content from the other source). This seems like a very silly limitation.
• Interface is utilitarian and generally not very inspired. Compared to more innovative interfaces like Apple's Front Row, the CS510's interface is very me-too in the same vein as Windows Media Center and Myth TV (functional but unexciting). A minor quibble for someone who favors function over form most of the time.
• Lots of setting changes require rebooting the unit. Want to enable UPnP support? OK...reboot. Want to change your LAN connection mode? OK...reboot. That gets old pretty quickly, especially when the unit I tested seemed to occasionally lose its ability to find UPnP servers on network and the only way to re-enable that was to go into Settings, turn UPnP support off, reboot, turn it back on, reboot, and then scan for UPnP servers. Not the most fun way to spend 5-6 minutes.
SUMMARY
I was pretty excited about this device when I heard about it. Now that I've had some hands-on time, I'm optimistic that the next version of the CS510 may be something I would be willing to purchase for home use. At a $249 MSRP, I can't say I heartily recommend this unit -- it just has too many niggling deficiencies for me to say it's a good choice. But, it's close. If you're desperate to play back digitized content on your home theater, want lots of flexibility, willing to put up with some strange behavior and waiting time, and don't already have an HTPC set up, the CS510 might be just what you're looking for.Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Movies & Books and Music & Audio and Technology and Wireless
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April 8, 2007
Zune Media Players Now Under $200
This from a well-known online electronics merchant (that I don't particularly want to promote), down 20% from the Zune's original price of $249 just a few months ago:
Economics tells us that things in high demand rarely see significant drops in price.
Posted by Craig in Industry and Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio
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April 3, 2007
The Futurist a New and Terrific Indie Music Blog
WOXY.com, that phoenix of Internet radio stations, recently launched The Futurist, a top-drawer indie/alternative music industry blog.
What separates The Futurist from the other entries in the music blogosphere is that it uniquely combines the insights of experienced DJs and music professionals with the level independence unmatched by professional blogs hindered by corporate oversight (such as one might have at a ClearChannel). Most music blogs are either the efforts of individuals, so they're uneven and/or highly biased, or are corporate efforts, so are subject to the whims of accountants, lawyers, and advertising/marketing initiatives. The Futurist so far appears to be none of those.
So, go check it out:
Posted by Craig in Internet and Music & Audio
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March 11, 2007
Virtual Reality Sound Labs VRFM9 Quite the Multi-Talented FM Transmitter
While at Target earlier today looking for something else entirely, I stumbled upon the VRFM3 FM Transmitter by Virtual Reality Sound Labs. What caught my eye about this FM transmitter is the fact that it will play MP3 and WMA files directly from either a flash drive inserted into its USB port or an Secure Digital (SD) card inserted into its SD slot (see below). Of course, there's also a line-in jack for transmitting audio from another source (e.g., an iPod or Treo), but this is the first unit I've seen to offer both USB and SD interfaces. So, excited by the prospect of easy, cheap, portable, and completely wire-free tunage for any car I happen to be in, I plunked down my $49.99 and headed home to put the VRFM9 through its paces.
After an initial test, I'm very impressed by how well this device works. It does exactly what you would expect, if not hope, it to do, which, unfortunately, seems to be a rarity in consumer electronics. Plus, even more a rarity are the extensive written instructions (including color diagrams) that came with the device.
First, I tried the typical external input mode with my Treo 700p as source. The VRFM9 automatically detects which source is hooked up (if music is available by more than one source, priority goes first to the external line-in, then to the USB port, then last to the SD card slot; the unit will only play music from one source) and transmits that via one of its 15 preset FM channels (8 in the low range and 7 in the high range...enough to satisfy nearly everyone nearly all the time). The two-line LCD (at right) offers some information about the FM channel being used, play mode (normal v. shuffle), source, etc. If the unit is playing an MP3 or WMA file straight off USB or SD card, it will display the artist and song title as well (assuming these tags are present in the audio file). It's a bit cryptic and not a lot of characters appear at once, but given that you likely won't be interacting a lot with this device, it's certainly adequate, if not surprisingly nice. One nice UI touch is that when you switch tracks or change the volume, the display changes to show extra-large characters (e.g., "011/045" to let you know you're on track 11 of 45 total tracks on that source) for enhanced readability.Second, I tried a couple different SD cards. Both my 2GB and 4GB SD (not SDHC) cards worked fine. The VRFM9 will scan the card when inserted and start playing the first one it comes across. It appears to play in this order: (1) anything in the root directory, in alphabetical order by file name, (2) anything in sub-directories in alphabetical order by sub-directory, then by file name within each sub-directory. Of course, putting the unit in Shuffle mode randomizes play across all files in all directories. One odd thing I noticed was that the unit would attempt to play the two WMV files I had in one sub-directory, but it was unsuccessful as no sound was transmitted.
I then attempted to use the VRFM9 with a USB flash drive (specifically, the 4GB Patriot Xporter XT that I reviewed previously), but no joy. The unit displayed "No Source" with that USB drive. I'll hunt around for another one and give it a go when I get a chance. Another note regarding use with flash drives; not all will fit. Particularly fat flash drives may be too girthy to fit into the VRFM9's port. If there's an SD card inserted, this further reduces the space around the USB port. Most normal extension cables will work fine.
One interesting tidbit is that a USB flash card reader that mounts like an external drive will let the user effectively play music through the VRFM9 via any of the flash media formats the reader supports. But as above, music will be played from only one card at a time. I tried plugging in an external USB hard drive (full 120VAC 3.5" drive), but no dice...the unit didn't recognize that anything was plugged in to the USB port.
Controls on the unit are spartan but adequate. They all click nicely and the dual-function (click vs. hold) is reasonably intuitive.
Now, two minor complaints. First, even though the unit ratchets through about a 120-degree sweep, the LCD isn't particularly readable except at very direct angles. So, if your car's cigarette lighter/power socket is way off to the side of the center console, you may not have much luck reading the display while driving. Second, as with all FM transmitters, sound quality is not particularly good. After all, you're limited to the sound quality of FM radio, which isn't going to impress anyone. Audiophiles will want to look to other (and likely much more expensive) hardwired solutions for getting their portable audio broadcast through their cars' stereos.
Overall, I am quite impressed by this device. Not only does it do exactly what you think it should, it seems reasonably well made and is not terribly expensive. And, given that many people have at least one lower-capacity SD card or USB flash drive sitting in a drawer not doing anything, this makes for a very easy way to put it to work as a music sherpa for your car.
There are also some nice reviews of the VRFM9 over at Audioholics and Gizmos for Geeks if you're still on the fence or want more opinions.
Posted by Craig in Cars and Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio and Travel and Wireless
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March 4, 2007
US Copyright Royalty Board Effectively Kills Off Internet Radio
The newly passed royalty rates, some of which are (incredibly) retroactive, for online music broadcasting are patently ridiculous. Wired's coverage outlines many of the ways these new rates will effectively demolish online broadcasting for US-based companies.
The new rates force webcasters to pay for each song streamed to each user, and increase over the next few years as follows:
2006: $0.0008 to stream one song to one listener
2007: $.0011
2008: $.0014
2009: $.0018
2010: $.0019Those fees will add up quickly for larger webcasters; the Radio and Internet Newsletter (RAIN) calculates that, assuming that the average station plays 16 songs per hour, sites would have to pay "about 1.28 cents" per listener per hour using the 2006 rate, and would owe this retroactively, in addition to licensing fees going forward.
This is very, very bad, especially for small- and medium-sized webcasters like our beloved WOXY.com. Also, you have to realize that these rates don't even include royalties paid to the original writer/composer of the work being broadcast; the rates above are just to the recording artist!
It makes me wonder exactly how much those fogeys on the CRB get paid by the RIAA. Sure, not directly -- they're not that dumb -- but gifts to friends and family and the occasional perk indirectly sponsored by the RIAA are, I'm sure, part and parcel of the assignment. After all, if it's not bribery, how do you explain a ruling so lopsidedly in favor of industry at the expense of consumers and to the detriment of innovation?
Posted by Craig in Industry and Music & Audio and Society / Politics
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February 21, 2007
Wanted: Audio Player with External USB Hard Drive Support
When our home theater PC died recently, it got me thinking: what exactly do we need in the way of "advanced" media support in our entertainment center cabinet?
It turns out that our needs are fairly simple: playing MP3s through our main home stereo is what we do 98% of the time. So far, life has been pretty good with our SMC EZ-Stream networked audio streamer; no complaints there. But I keep asking myself the same question when I think about this whole class of networked media players: Why do they all seem to require that the media be served to them from a PC or NAS somewhere else on the network?
When it comes to video, I can understand the need for a PC to do the heavy lifting -- video decompression can be a computationally challenging task and sticking a necessarily decent processor and memory in one of these devices wouldn't make sense.
But for audio devices, such as the SMC (and others), I don't have a good answer for that question. Decompressing a plain old MP3 file, for example, takes minimal computing horsepower, probably no more than what it takes to handle audio streaming across a wireless network.
If that's true, why don't any of these audio streaming devices support plugging in an external USB hard drive loaded up with audio files for local playback? Wouldn't that be a great feature? Instead of having to have a PC somewhere on the network run special UPnP audio serving software, chewing up LAN bandwidth and electricity, why not just have the streamer suck the MP3 data straight off an attached drive?
Imagine this: you get a little box with a little display (much like the SMC pictured) that has three ports on the back: power, audio out (preferably digital), and USB 2.0. You plug in the power, connect the audio to your stereo receiver, and then plug in an external drive loaded with tunes. Once the drive spools up, the little box searches through it for audio files and builds up a database of important details (e.g., artist, album, genre, etc.). Then, you use a remote control to select and play music via the box directly from the hard drive through your stereo -- no PC or network required! And with the on-unit display, you don't even have to have a TV near your stereo to listen to music (what a concept).External drives are incredibly cheap these days -- a 120GB drive, which would hold most people's entire audio collections, can be easily had for under $60. Plus, there are other advantages to local playback: reliability would go up since you're no longer relying on a wired or wireless network to transmit the data; sound quality should go up since data drop-outs would be effectively reduced to zero; and searching/browsing through your media library would be nearly instantaneous since the streamer itself would contain the database of your audio files' details rather than having to get info from the database stored on the server PC elsewhere on the network.
To me, this seems like a really desirable, easy, and cheap feature to add to one of these streaming devices, yet nobody does it on devices less than several hundred dollars (and usually are more video-centric, requiring you to hook it up to a TV to interact with it). Why isn't this feature commonplace? Am I overlooking an inexpensive device that does do this? Am I not understanding some complexity that keeps it from being done easily? What's the deal? If you can clue me in, let me know.
Update (2/24): I came across the D-Link DSM-120 Wireless Music Player which does let you plug in a USB drive or install a 2.5" drive internally (nifty!). Unfortunately, according to reviews at Newegg.com, that's about all this device has going for it.
Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio
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November 15, 2006
Why Zune Won't Make a Dent in iPod Sales
After reading a lot of comments on Zune, Microsoft's recent foray into the portable media market, from lots of places, I think it's safe to say that Steve Jobs isn't losing any sleep over his iPod's latest competitor. Why Zune won't make a difference in the portable media market basically comes down to both what it is and what it is not:
What It Is:
• Bigger, chunkier, and less portable than nearly all other 30GB media players on the market.
• A Microsoft product (as those "I'm a PC. I'm a Mac" commercials point out, the Microsoft/Windows/PC side of consumer electronics is not considered very hip).
• Competing against an increasing array of better, faster, smaller, more capable devices every day.What It Is Not:
• Able to act as a portable storage device (compatible with neither Media Transfer Protocol nor Mass Storage Class).
• Compatible with Microsoft's own Plays For Sure certification or able to play media from any store using that system.
• Able to interact with iTunes or the iTunes store (still the industry leader).
• Capable of using its Wi-Fi for anything actually interesting or useful.Granted, this is version 1 of Zune. Microsoft tends to need 3 or more iterations to get something to work well and provide a compelling value proposition, so maybe we just need to wait a year or so for it to evolve. Of course, it may not last even that long if its sales this holiday season are as miserable as they just might be.
Posted by Craig in Industry and Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio
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October 4, 2006
Rip Old Tapes and Vinyl to MP3 with Spin It Again
My wife and I, as children of the 70's and 80's, still have loads of cassette tapes of bands like Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Too Much Joy, Rainbow, Men Without Hats...the list goes on and on. Realizing that these tapes were only degrading over time and that they'd eventually become completely unplayable (or we'd no longer have any equipment on which to play them...if not both), I started looking around for an easy way to get good-quality digital rips of these tapes.
After ripping about a dozen complete cassettes using Acoustica Spin It Again software, I give it a thumbs up. In a nutshell, Spin It Again records your tape (or vinyl or reel-to-reel...whatever you have) via the audio input on your PC to lossless WAV. It then automagically processes the WAV file into songs (this it does VERY well...I rarely have to tweak song splits). After that, you can apply any of a number of noise removal, EQ, and other audio quality enhancement filters. The final step is the most arduous: entering in all the track data manually (these aren't CDs, so using a FreeDB-like service wouldn't help much). It will then output to whatever format you like; it offers MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, and WMA as defaults.
While I'd like to say the interface is perfect, it's not. A few little tweaks and extra options here and there would alleviate some minor irritations, but these are nothing that I can't live with
(and it does seem to be fairly actively developed by Acoustica)(and Acoustica seems to be paying more attention to other apps right now, so I don't expect these to be fixed any time soon).Audio quality of the output is pretty good. I'd say great, but these are old cassette tapes we're talking about as the source material, so I'd be lying if I said they sounded anything better than reasonable.
So, if you're looking for a decent (and, at $35, a relatively inexpensive) software solution for ripping old analog audio media, give Spin It Again a look. With 4 free rips in the unregistered app, and a 30-day money-back satisfaction guarantee, you really don't have any reason not to give it a try.
Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio
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September 26, 2006
WOXY.com Gets New Lease on Life
Like a phoenix, WOXY.com (nee 97X) will soon be rising from its own ashes.According to this monster message board thread, serial entrepreneur Bill Nguyen and some investors will be acquiring the station, likely salvaging most of its talented on-air staff (Barb is headed to Minnesota to work for The Current).
Possibly even more exciting about this news is the fact that Nguyen's involvement will bring scads of new technology to WOXY.com, such as a rumored "listener-created radio" (what that exactly means remains to be seen), higher quality audio streams, interactive/targeted advertising (the bills gotta be paid somehow), and some new ideas for making Internet radio more portable (something I've complained about before).
My hunch is that more official news will be posted on the WOXY.com website very soon.
Good luck guys...let's make this third time the charm, eh?
Posted by Craig in Music & Audio
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September 4, 2006
WOXY.com (2004-2006)
In continuning with bad news, WOXY.com, the best terrestrial-alternative-radio-station-to-go-completely-online will cease operations on September 15th. At least that's what a note posted on the WOXY.com website says.After two years of struggling to make ends meet, the gang there just couldn't figure out how to make enough money to pay the bills.
While I will miss the music and personalities on WOXY, I have to admit to listening to them only rarely. NPR has taken over my car radio preset and at home we now listen mostly to music my daughter wants to hear (she's 2, so WOXY's programming isn't quite her speed yet). I guess this is a sign that I need to start listening exclusively to 80's alternative and fully embrace the stereotypical parent-figure I always figured I could avoid becoming just by trying a little harder. Black dress socks with shorts and carseats full of Cheerios are in my immediate future now, I suppose.
Thanks, WOXY...I loved what you were able to do...I just wish you were able to do it a bit longer.
Posted by Craig in Music & Audio
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August 6, 2006
Update on the Memorex iWake: Not a Keeper
Previously, I wrote about my first impression of the Mi4004 iWake Clock Radio for iPod and had some consternation over a little audible hard drive noise.Well, two other shortcomings in the iWake make that concern seem like small potatoes. First, as my wife pointed out almost immediately, the iWake offers no radio presets. Sure, it has a digital tuner, and you can have each of the two alarms wake up to a different radio station, but it doesn't have any station memory presets. So, if you want to change stations, you have to scroll through the digital dial. Not horrible, but a bit pointless.
Second, and perhaps most incredible, is that you cannot set the volume level for the alarm. It starts out at volume level "6" and increments up to "12" over a span of about 20 seconds. By my standards, "6" is way, way too loud for an alarm clock. This is my wife's alarm...she gets up about 90 minutes before I do. It takes something on the order of an atomic blast to wake me up, usually, but this thing had me leaping out of bed as soon as it turned on. It's pretty ridiculous that you can't have it start out at zero and gradually increase into the audible range.
So, back to the store it goes...and for good, this time. :-(
Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio
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July 31, 2006
The Princess iPod
My buddy Mitch wrote in with this entertaining story about crafting up a custom "Princess iPod" for his daughter's birthday:
My daughter somehow got it into her head that she wanted a "Princess iPod" because she saw some junky, Disney-branded knockoff in the store. I told her she couldn't have it, but she has not forgotten about it and today is her 5th birthday party.
Her grandmother wanted to give her something indulgent. So, I took a 512MB Shuffle and covered it with an "init Bling" kit from Best Buy and some princess stickers. I ripped several albums of Disney songs to pre-load onto the Shuffle and voila! The Princess iPod
My money has her either losing it, or interest in it, by tomorrow. :-)
Well done, sir! I'm sure the Disney lawyers will be knocking on your door any minute, now.
Posted by Craig in Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio
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July 25, 2006
Memorex Mi4004 iWake Clock Radio for iPod
The Mi4004 iWake Clock Radio for iPod (shown) is a new accessory from Memorex for use with all dockable iPods. It comes in black and white.I bought one of these ($70) and tested it quickly this morning to see how it sounded. The radio function worked well; reception was pretty decent and sound quality was acceptable. Not great (little bass), but acceptable.
However, once I docked my wife's iPod Mini, I noticed that the speakers gave off a weird hum that seemed to correspond to the Mini's hard drive seeking (during start-up and menu functions). It was easily audible even with the unit's volume all the way down, leading me to think it's some sort of shielding problem. When music was playing from the iPod, I didn't hear the hum/noise, but the sound quality was still nothing exceptional.
And that's too bad. The unit is aesthetically pleasing with plenty of options/functions and a nifty white LCD time display. If only it sounded as good as it looked, and didn't have that pesky shielding problem, it'd be a keeper. As is, however, it'll most likely get returned.
So...any suggestions for an iPod-friendly clock radio?
Update: I just got off the phone with Memorex and they suggested that it's likely a defective unit and that I return it and test another in the store. Will post here when I get a chance to do that, so stay tuned.
Update #2: I tested another unit at the store and it exhibited the same noise associated with hard drive activity, although it seemed a bit less (hard to tell as the store was considerably noisier than our bedroom at home). To be fair, I'm not sure if this is an issue with our Mini's connector or an issue with the Memorex unit -- if anybody tries one of these iWakes with something other than an iPod mini, let me know. Thanks.
Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio
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July 20, 2006
Mitch's Review of the Nike+ iPod Nano
Contributed by Mitch:
The word is out in a major way about the Nike/Apple partnership and their Nike+ campaign. Reviews are starting to abound so I won't re-hash what you can read elsewhere. If you are just crawling from under some nice rock, I'll be brief. For $29 you can purchase a kit consisting of a transmitter for your running shoe and a receiver for your iPod Nano.
While you run and listen to your Nano, the system will measure your time, pace and calories burned and a nice person will "coach" you at five minute intervals. After you finish your workout data will be sent to the Nike+ website during the next Nano synch. It's very simple, very effective and how they did this for $29 a pop I will never know.
I am a Mac user and the whole system worked 100% perfectly for me from the automatic firmware update on my Nano to linking with the shoe sender to the final transfer of data to the Nike+ website. No reboots, no driver updates, no connection problems, no muss, no fuss...amazing.
As an excellent partner to this new system, I discovered a podcast called Podrunner (recently rose to #2 on the iTunes' Podcast Top 10) that offers free running mixes from LA's own dj steveboy. These hour long mixes are built at a set number of beats per minute and make keeping your pace a simple thing.
I already enjoyed running, but now even more so with this latest bit of gadgetry.
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine and Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio
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April 10, 2006
Mobility: The Great Challenge for Streaming Media
Streaming media is on the rise -- YouTube, Google Video, et al. are testimony to that fact. Yet there's a huge gap between those who can enjoy streaming media on the go (in your car, on the commute, etc.) and those who use the original streaming medium: broadcast radio.Despite the growth of Wi-Fi and cellular Internet connections, good old-fashioned "radio" is still unmatched in its ease of use, cost-effectiveness, and reliability for broadcasting audio to multiple listeners.
Here's an example: When I'm out in the yard mowing, I can pick up a $10 portable FM radio (actually, you can get them free as tradeshow swag) and listen to about 30 channels for free simply by turning it on and hitting a preset button. There is no solution as simple, easy-to-use, and cheap for streaming sources, like WOXY.com or other Internet-only radio stations.
But why not? My Wi-Fi network covers my yard, so why isn't there a nice, little (maybe even cheap) Wi-Fi radio I can stick in my pocket and "tune in" to streamed sources?
Granted, I can use my Treo 650 to stream in MP3-based sources at a whopping 48k mono (thanks, T-Mobile EDGE :-/), but that means I can't receive calls and a full charge only lasts about 2 hours doing that.
So what's the solution? Is terrestrial station going to be around forever because we can't beat its delivery economics with packet-based technologies? Or will mass storage continue to get smaller and cheaper at such a rate that we'll never feel a need for stuff stored "out there"? Or is there a solution on the way I just haven't heard of yet?
Posted by Craig in Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio and Wireless
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April 4, 2006
Why I Buy CDs
I buy CDs. That's the only way I purchase music. And here are the reasons why:
1) It's a durable format that will last a long time on my shelf. In the case, I don't doubt that my CDs will last at least a few decades (I've had some since 1987 and they still play perfectly).
2) It's guaranteed to be accessible for a long, long time because CD-playing hardware is so ubiquitous and upcoming technologies (e.g. Blu-Ray and HD DVD) still include CDDA as a supported format. At a minimum, I can rip them into other formats that can then evolve as needed.
3) It's DRM free. I don't buy DRMed CDs because I want to make sure that advantage #2 isn't obviated through software restrictions.
4) It's reasonably portable. 10 CD jewel cases takes up a fair bit of space, but 10 CDs doesn't and 10 hours of music is quite a bit for one trip. Granted, for longer trips, I take ripped tracks, but to just toss a couple of albums in the car, CDs are still reasonably handy.
5) I like albums. Even though I may initially buy a 12-song album for just a couple of songs, I often end up really liking a few other tracks as well that I probably wouldn't have bought individually. This allows/helps me to appreciate the artist more completely.
6) CD jackets often contain entertaining and/or useful information, such as song lyrics and photos. Given that it's becoming increasingly hard to legally obtain song lyrics online, getting them "for free" in a jacket is an added benefit.
So, to date, I have not purchased a single music track online. And given that legal downloads still don't seem to provide the same value that CDs do, I doubt that will change in the near future.
Posted by Craig in Music & Audio
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March 1, 2006
WOXY.com Moves to Subscriber-Based Funding
WOXY.com, the best Internet-based alternative music radio station, has announced that it is seeking contributions from listeners and subscriptions to its premium-quality music streams in order to supportcontinue its existence.From their website:
We're now into week 3 of our "Just Sign Up" campaign - asking you to show your support for WOXY.com and sign up for our premium members-only service for $9.95 a month. We're happy to say membership is still climbing. A big round of thanks to everyone who has signed up, contributed, and emailed their friends, loved-ones and strangers in the effort to get the word out and get people signed up. We have a ways to go, but if your staggering outpouring of support is indicative, we can get there.
If you're just showing up and wondering what we're making a fuss about, find out what we're doing and why.
What you can do to help:
1. Sign up and become a member
2. Make a contribution
3. Email your friends and tell 'em how great WOXY.com isSome things about this trouble me greatly.
First, and most obviously, is that Internet-based content is valued in a ridiculously inconsistent and unfathomable way. On one hand, AOL spent $25 million on a cluster of 50 or so established blogs. On the other hand, we have an innovative and industry-leading Internet music provider struggling to scrounge up even a hundredth of that. How is it that a text blog, which can be created (and replicated) with little expertise or capital, is valued so significantly more than a radio station with all its music industry expertise, experience, and capital investment?
Second, I wonder whether someone is potentially asleep at the wheel at WOXY.com. We've all heard how Internet-based advertising is becoming all the rage again. Could it truly be that hard to dig up some advertising contracts to support the station?
One of the comments the WOXY.com folks have made is that advertisers haven't really figured out what they are yet. Is WOXY.com a website? Certainly not just a website, but theirs is integral to the listener community. Is WOXY.com a radio station? Well, kind of, but not in the geographically bounded sense that typifies terrestrial stations. So, according to the station, advertisers don't know what to make of them yet. Well, then it's WOXY's job to tell them. It's called "selling"...something nobody at WOXY these days is apparently very good at (not that I blame the folks there...I, myself, suck at selling). Sounds like they need WKRP's Herb Tarlek to round up some advertising accounts.Finally, this situation clearly demonstrates that creativity, artistic talent, and good intentions are ultimately dependent upon some business savvy in order to survive in the corporate world. I personally like the folks at WOXY -- they've always been fantastic to their listeners and truly dedicated to the music they play -- but they don't seem interested in understanding how businesses grow and prosper. I'm not saying everyone there needs to know...but at least someone should.
In the interim, between now and when they go off the air (again), go visit their website and give them a listen -- I bet you a dollar that you'll like what you hear...a lot.
Posted by Craig in Industry and Music & Audio
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November 9, 2005
New GearBits Radio.Blog Stream
Over in the right menu there in GearBits' main index is a new feature I'm trying out: a Radio.Blog music streaming applet.
I've filled it with a not-quite-random sample of stuff I personally like and will be refreshing the playlist every so often. Click on the graphic to launch a Flash player applet in a dedicated pop-up window (so you can continue to browse without losing the tunes).
Let me know what you think. And if you want more info on the player applet, visit the Radio.Blog.Club website.
Posted by Craig in Music & Audio
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October 26, 2005
iTunes On Your Treo? No Problem.
Tempted by the ROKR because of your addiction to iTunes, but not wanting to give up the smug satisfaction of your Treo? Fret no more.
The newly released version 1.3 of Mass Storage Synchronizer, a free iTunes add-on by Tea Vui Huang, lets you sync iTunes to your Treo 600 or 650. Just use either RealPlayer for Palm or Pocket Tunes to play the synced music.
Posted by Craig in Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio
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