Non-portable MP3 Player

F

Flippit

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Messages
228
Reaction score
0
Location
Cape Town
I have an ever-growing collection of >10GB of mp3s, which represents all the music that I listen to.

I also have an amp and speakers.

I need something to play my mp3s which my amp can then amplify... but it can't be any of the obvious things:

- Computer: a full PC is overkill (and expensive) for ONLY playing mp3s, this room is separate from my computer room so I can't use any existing PC of mine. Plus a PC is noisy and this is not on!

- CD Player: would require me to get all my music onto CD, and change CDs all the time - what a mission!

- ipod: This would be exactly the right thing, except that basically it's over-engineered for what I need it for - the device I need doesn't have to be small at all, it's just going to sit on a desk next to my amp. Also I'm hoping to spend much less than the cost of a 20/40GB ipod!

So something like a hifi, but that can play mp3s off a hard drive?

So does anyone know of anything that can solve my problem? It doesn't need to have speakers or an amp, I have those already (i.e. I have a setup that I could just plug into an ipod's headphone jack and it would play out my speakers)

Thanks :)
 
Have a look @ netgear's MP101. It is a MP3 player that plays your music over a wireless network. You install the server on the PC which contains your MP3 collection and the device connects to it and you have access to all your music.

I do recommend that you use the freeware software instead of theirs, it adds more functionality and are less resource intensive for large MP3 collections.

It also supports playlists & internet radio.

I own one and am very satisfied with it.

Just make sure your tags of the MP3's are correct.
 
I use an Apple Airport Express as part of my wireless network - they come with built in streaming audio capability. Perhaps something like that?
 
ekkesa said:
Have a look @ netgear's MP101. It is a MP3 player that plays your music over a wireless network. You install the server on the PC which contains your MP3 collection and the device connects to it and you have access to all your music.

I do recommend that you use the freeware software instead of theirs, it adds more functionality and are less resource intensive for large MP3 collections.

It also supports playlists & internet radio.

I own one and am very satisfied with it.

Just make sure your tags of the MP3's are correct.
Click to expand...

This looks nice, pretty good solution to the problem, except:
- not sure where I can find one (looks like it's discontinued by Netgear)
- only supports WEP encryption (no WPA), see here, especially the later pages.

Very nice, though - how easy is it to navigate the interface? Can you make playlists on the fly (can you select a whole lot of individual tracks to play on the device) or do you have to make playlists on the computer beforehand?

bwana v.21 said:
I use an Apple Airport Express as part of my wireless network - they come with built in streaming audio capability. Perhaps something like that?
Click to expand...

This does look interesting, Apple's wireless gear looks nice... As far as I can see, this only has an output, no means to control the music at the unit (away from the computer). Is this so?
 
Flippit said:
This does look interesting, Apple's wireless gear looks nice... As far as I can see, this only has an output, no means to control the music at the unit (away from the computer). Is this so?
Click to expand...
Yes - there's no direct way of controlling the music though any device that can control your computer can also therefore control your music - VNC via a PSP's wifi? or in my case my missus' cellphone. I've got a couple of these Airport Expresses scattered around the house primarily for the networking - however one is connected to a boom box (and printer) and another is wired into my hifi.

I'm sure there are better, dedicated solutions, more suited for your needs. :)
 
Slim Devices FTW baby! :cool: ..sure, ok, they got bought out by Logitech recently (tho' this MAY be a good thing) but they DO have an excellent pedigree and come equipped with some downright sweet hardware! ..flippancy aside tho', at least the basic Squeezeboxen are available (and you can choose your look) ..tho', personally, I'd look around beyond got2gouge: go and haunt your local newsagent places and rifle through the hi-fi mags ..I KNOW there's some (lame-ass - last I checked they had a *truly* bad site) fancy-pants hi-fi mag that has this hardware listed, you may well get a better price there.

So, you've at least got Slim Devices' basic and drooltastic :p kit, Roku's toy ..or, with a bit of futzing around, the Netgear MP101 afterall.
 
bwana v.21 said:
Yes - there's no direct way of controlling the music though any device that can control your computer can also therefore control your music - VNC via a PSP's wifi? or in my case my missus' cellphone. I've got a couple of these Airport Expresses scattered around the house primarily for the networking - however one is connected to a boom box (and printer) and another is wired into my hifi.

I'm sure there are better, dedicated solutions, more suited for your needs. :)
Click to expand...

Yes indeed, I definitely need to have control over the music at the unit, and I have no PSP or phone that can connect to my home network... from what I see of the Apple devices, it looks very easy and user-friendly to set up a home multimedia network!

bdt said:
Slim Devices FTW baby! :cool: ..sure, ok, they got bought out by Logitech recently (tho' this MAY be a good thing) but they DO have an excellent pedigree and come equipped with some downright sweet hardware! ..flippancy aside tho', at least the basic Squeezeboxen are available (and you can choose your look) ..tho', personally, I'd look around beyond got2gouge: go and haunt your local newsagent places and rifle through the hi-fi mags ..I KNOW there's some (lame-ass - last I checked they had a *truly* bad site) fancy-pants hi-fi mag that has this hardware listed, you may well get a better price there.

So, you've at least got Slim Devices' basic and drooltastic :p kit, Roku's toy ..or, with a bit of futzing around, the Netgear MP101 afterall.
Click to expand...

These look nice, but at over R3k on have2have.co.za I may as well buy a whole (cheap) computer system!

Fiekus said:
I saw this on digitalplanet. it's a Netgear Multimedia centre for R1,294 and u buy the hard-drive separate.

Check it out at http://www.digitalplanet.co.za/shop/product.asp?stockid=95803&=71
Click to expand...

This looks good - wireless definitely isn't a requirement - this one is a definite maybe ;)

Has anyone had any experience with the Logitech Wireless DJ Music System? It looks good, except I'm not sure how much of its processing is done on the computer side - eg. if someone is logged in and playing music, will this device still be able to operate independently?
 
I'm also looking for something similar, and also need to select and control the music at the device, so would need a reasonably large display that shows the folder structure and song details. It doesn't need to have a hard disk if it can connect to a share on the network. I have come across such devices that connect to a TV, but one that connects to a normal computer display would be much more convenient.
 
JAS said:
I'm also looking for something similar, and also need to select and control the music at the device, so would need a reasonably large display that shows the folder structure and song details. It doesn't need to have a hard disk if it can connect to a share on the network. I have come across such devices that connect to a TV, but one that connects to a normal computer display would be much more convenient.
Click to expand...
Same here - ended up ordering a mac mini. Probably overkill but who cares :D
 
Fiekus said:
I saw this on digitalplanet. it's a Netgear Multimedia centre for R1,294 and u buy the hard-drive separate.

Check it out at http://www.digitalplanet.co.za/shop/product.asp?stockid=95803&=71
Click to expand...

Following a closer look, it seems that the Mvix MV-5000U Multimedia Centre (not Netgear ;))and its little brother, the Mvix MV-4000U Multimedia Centre are also video players - and the menu that is used to select songs to play is usable only on a TV screen. I don't have a TV in the room, so that's no good :( Back to square one...

Anyone know about the Logitech (see a few posts up)?
 
Roku - One of the best.

I have the Roku HD1000, which is overkill for you, and anyway, is no longer available. However, the SoundBrige is.

Their website can be found here

The pros:
  1. Looks downright sexy
  2. Is hackable
  3. Easy to control
  4. Built-in wireless
  5. Big screen
  6. The electronics on the audio side are first rate
 
Flippit said:
Very cost-effective for the unit, yes, but flash memory able to store over 10GB of mp3s will be prohibitively expensive :(
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, you don't have to use an actual flash drive, any external hard drive that conforms to the usb mass storage standard (the same one flash drives use) should work.
 
fcollingwood said:
I have the Roku HD1000, which is overkill for you, and anyway, is no longer available. However, the SoundBrige is.

Their website can be found here

The pros:
  1. Looks downright sexy
  2. Is hackable
  3. Easy to control
  4. Built-in wireless
  5. Big screen
  6. The electronics on the audio side are first rate
Click to expand...

The Roku SoundBridge M500 looks pretty good (it has the option for wired connection, which is a plus). Do you know where it is available in SA? And at what price?

Also, can it be used while the server computer is being used by someone else to listen to music (different music to the Roku)?
 
No idea about SA, I haven't lived there for over 15 years. I ordered my HD1000 directly from RokuLabs in the US off their website, as the agents in Australia wanted twice the price.

As it is a UPnP client, you can do what you like on the machine where the UPnP server is running. All the info you require is on the website, or in the downloadable manual.

I've never used one of these, I bought the PhotoBridge, as it better suited what I needed (Cable of connecting to CIFS shares, HD video playback, MP£ playback, etc), so I don't know too much about the operation of the machine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X