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Post by agehring on Dec 17, 2009 13:19:38 GMT -5
How do you like the XBMC? Their software looks very cool. So basically its just a browser with some added features? I am starting to think the ATV would be a good addition to my set up. I should have bought it on BF when it was on sale I personally think the XBMC is the best "Media Interface" on the "market" right now. Using XBMC on my ATVs, and connecting to a large disk server (6T), I have all of my music, movies and TV shows (not to mention direct connections to online content) in one place (actually 3 places :-) )... Additionally, there is a new UI (Confluence) on the XBMC 9.11 version that is REALLY nice (IMHO).
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Post by bigred7078 on Dec 17, 2009 13:22:45 GMT -5
i'm very happy with the apple tv. I have really not had any issues with music playback. Here is the thing though. You need to have the music IN iTunes in order to access it. Thats the only way the ATV can see the files. It doesnt work like the duet or Sonos that can grab the music from any folder unfortunately, but thats just part of anything Apple. Here is my thread on the Apple TV emotivalounge.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=newgear&action=display&thread=3221&page=1Actually thats not true. You can use the ATV patchstick and install NitoTV to play any codec you like from any folder on your computer... not just iTunes. You don't have to be a geek to figure it out. If you can figure out how to plug a usb flash drive into your computer, download the code from google code and plug it into your ATV then you are set. More advanced hacks will require puddy for windows and terminal for mac, but the instructions are out there and are simple. The Apple TV can be so much more than what you get when you buy it... food for thought well yes i know that, i was just referring to stock.
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Post by agehring on Dec 17, 2009 13:26:44 GMT -5
Actually thats not true. You can use the ATV patchstick and install NitoTV to play any codec you like from any folder on your computer... not just iTunes. You don't have to be a geek to figure it out. If you can figure out how to plug a usb flash drive into your computer, download the code from google code and plug it into your ATV then you are set. More advanced hacks will require puddy for windows and terminal for mac, but the instructions are out there and are simple. The Apple TV can be so much more than what you get when you buy it... food for thought You don't need NitoTV either... A simple install of XBMC, plays every file type I've run into (FLAC, OGG, MP3, M4A,...)... An Yes the ATV, at least when running XBMC, connects to a storage server elsewhere on a network. Mine connects to a server that provides both SMB, AFP and NFS (FreeNAS)... I control music playing via a Web interface, as well as a iPhone/iPod Touch app - without having to turn on a TV.
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Post by akbungle on Dec 17, 2009 14:29:35 GMT -5
AT THIS MOMENT AMAZON IS SELLING THE DUET FOR 250.00 SHIPPED!!
Under holiday deals!!
go quick!!
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Post by bigred7078 on Dec 17, 2009 14:31:47 GMT -5
AT THIS MOMENT AMAZON IS SELLING THE DUET FOR 250.00 SHIPPED!! Under holiday deals!! go quick!! wow thats amazing..
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Post by house72 on Dec 17, 2009 19:00:29 GMT -5
Hey
Thanks for the headsup. I bought this for $249 from Amazon. Now I have apple tv for video/itube and for just radio and music this one.
Cheers
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Post by strindl on Dec 18, 2009 22:16:17 GMT -5
AT THIS MOMENT AMAZON IS SELLING THE DUET FOR 250.00 SHIPPED!! Under holiday deals!! go quick!! Other than the ones I bought for 200 bucks at Circuit City's bankruptcy sale last Feb, that's the lowest price I've seen by far...70 or 80 bucks cheaper than normal
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Post by busen19 on Dec 23, 2009 11:01:55 GMT -5
Actually thats not true. You can use the ATV patchstick and install NitoTV to play any codec you like from any folder on your computer... not just iTunes. You don't have to be a geek to figure it out. If you can figure out how to plug a usb flash drive into your computer, download the code from google code and plug it into your ATV then you are set. More advanced hacks will require puddy for windows and terminal for mac, but the instructions are out there and are simple. The Apple TV can be so much more than what you get when you buy it... food for thought You don't need NitoTV either... A simple install of XBMC, plays every file type I've run into (FLAC, OGG, MP3, M4A,...)... An Yes the ATV, at least when running XBMC, connects to a storage server elsewhere on a network. Mine connects to a server that provides both SMB, AFP and NFS (FreeNAS)... I control music playing via a Web interface, as well as a iPhone/iPod Touch app - without having to turn on a TV. you're right, I never used XMBC - I used Nito and Boxee. You can get XMBC from the ATV patchstick as well. It comes with ssh enabler Boxee, and XMBC. I always thought Boxee ran too slow on Apple TV. How does XMBC run on it ?
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Post by agehring on Dec 26, 2009 12:28:22 GMT -5
How does XMBC run on it ? Personally, I'm really happy with the performance. There are "moments" of slowness, but overall it is very responsive. Note: The newest releases support a harmony remote, and that has been a hugh improvement...
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Post by newfiestang50 on Dec 27, 2009 13:53:22 GMT -5
Well I can speak on two of the systems being discussed since I did own both the Duet and Sonos, one of which I still own. The Duet was my first attempt a streaming source and like most other people, I choose it due to its price when compared to the Sonos system. I did a lot of research on the Duet before buying and was warned by alot of people both on the Logitech Squeezecenter forums as well as on the Sonos forums about the problems with the Duet. I was told that if I went with the Duet I better be prepared to do some serious troubleshooting to get the system running and that my wireless home network better be solid. Well guess what, they were right. I played around with this system for 2 weeks and never did get it working for more than a few hours. My suggestion is this, if you buy the Duet you better have a hardwired ethernet connection or a very strong wireless network.
Next I purchased the Sonos ZP 90 zone player (non amplified), the ZP120 (amplified zoneplayer) and the CR200 controller. From the time I started unboxing the system to the time to listening to music was 25mins with not one drop-out in the 3 weeks I have owned it. The major difference in the Sonos is that it uses its own Sonos sub-network instead of your home wireless network. Also, every zoneplayer you add aides in extending the network and I can tell you that it is rock solid.
I am sure that there are people using the Duet without issue and are enjoying the wonderful benefits of streaming wireless music but I think it is geared more for the technical person. I should add that I am a controls technician so my knowledge in this area is very good but I still could not get it to work satisfactory, probably due to weak spots in my wireless network. If you go to the Duet forums over at squeezcenter you will see alot of people with problem similar to what I experienced. If my house was wired with ethernet my results may have been different.
Anyway that my $02 on each system, hope it helps.
Thanks
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Post by strindl on Dec 27, 2009 16:07:48 GMT -5
Juust curious newfiestang50...what type of wireless network do you have? I've been using Three Duets in my home for almost a year now and do not have a wireless connection problem with them. I've also given them as gifts to both of my nephews who also use them wirelessly on multiple floors without any connection troubles.
Sound quality wise, the sonos and duet are the same..in a high end system you should by pass the built in dacs in both and use your own better dacs .
The only wireless problem I have encountered is with the receiver in my living room which is next to my kitchen. I've found that when I run the microwave in the kitchen, the wireless connection stops until the microwave does.
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Post by newfiestang50 on Dec 27, 2009 20:31:55 GMT -5
Juust curious newfiestang50...what type of wireless network do you have? I've been using Three Duets in my home for almost a year now and do not have a wireless connection problem with them. I've also given them as gifts to both of my nephews who also use them wirelessly on multiple floors without any connection troubles. Sound quality wise, the sonos and duet are the same..in a high end system you should by pass the built in dacs in both and use your own better dacs . The only wireless problem I have encountered is with the receiver in my living room which is next to my kitchen. I've found that when I run the microwave in the kitchen, the wireless connection stops until the microwave does. My wireless is set up using a Siemens Speedstream modem. Like I said in my post, my wireless is probably not the greatest but there is alot more people than me having problems with other wireless routers as well. Just visit the slimdevices forums and see for your self. As I said before the Sonos system sets up its own Sub net, (Sonosnet I believe) not sure what frequency it is but every zone player you add extends the wireless range of the whole system making it stronger. I am a firm believer that it is superior in connectivity for this reason. As for the sound quality, I did not notice any difference in either system. One thing I can say also is that the ability for adding additional zones is a breeze and the ZP120 amplified zone player has superb sound quality and power. Also when the second, third, fourth zones are set up, selecting party mode, syncs all zones together in perfect harmony. I think the Logitech kits are still struggling with this feature if I am not mistaken. As you said the DAC's are not great in these devices so tend to use external DAC's as well, this is why both the Duet and Sonos sound the same in my system. Anyway, as I mentioned before, I think there are plenty of Duets in service that are operating trouble free but they tend to be more prone to "wireless glitches" than the Sonos system, this can be seen when viewing the forums. If you are fortunate enough to have it set up without issues I am sure it is every bit as good as the Sonos.
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Post by house72 on Dec 31, 2009 13:25:18 GMT -5
Hello Folks
I had issues for a couple of days trying to make my squeezebox work. What seems to work for me is the bridged mode. In bridged mode so far it seems to work very well. I can understand this being a challenge to some people out there. I am sure SONOS would probably be more plug and play like my Apple TV and Roku HD.
Cheers and happy new year.
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Post by strindl on Dec 31, 2009 20:25:03 GMT -5
Logitech addressed that issue about 9 months ago in a firmware update that downloaded. You are able to sync any squeezebox receivers so that they play exactly the same thing in perfect unison. Or you can play different music on each receiver.
Logitech has been pretty good with software updates as well. The software is open source as well, so many others write programs and enhancements for it. Ones that pass the use test get added to the app download site.
It's a pretty slick system.
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Post by newfiestang50 on Jan 1, 2010 14:39:07 GMT -5
Logitech addressed that issue about 9 months ago in a firmware update that downloaded. You are able to sync any squeezebox receivers so that they play exactly the same thing in perfect unison. Or you can play different music on each receiver. Logitech has been pretty good with software updates as well. The software is open source as well, so many others write programs and enhancements for it. Ones that pass the use test get added to the app download site. It's a pretty slick system. Sounds like its improving all the time, I never did try the multi-room sync when I had it, just something I read over on their forums when I was doing my research on the system. Glad to here its working now, I know alot of people were frustrated about it not working. The apps available are one area that they are ahead of Sonos for sure since there no such feature in the Sonos world.
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Post by house72 on Jan 1, 2010 21:50:35 GMT -5
I agree some of the apps and ability to play Pandora is great. One issue with Logitech is atleast for me it is not quite plug and play. I was frustrated for sure before it started working consistently.
Some agents are dumb as well. I guess you can see people like that everywhere I guess.
Cheers
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Post by gleep6991 on Jan 2, 2010 19:04:04 GMT -5
Does anyone have first-hand knowledge if the Duet or ATV(even with modded software) can stream off an NAS server or one of the new hardrives that can plug into a router port....without having a computer or TV running? That would certainly be the ideal system. Great music without having to turn a bunch of stuff on when you drag in from work. Some days twisting off a beer top, flipping on the pre-amp switch and finding a couch is all the work I want after a long day. I am using the duet with the server software running on a Thecus N7700 NAS. It also works with the N5200 series too.
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cawgijoe
Emo VIPs
"We made too many of the wrong mistakes." - Yogi Berra
Posts: 4,914
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Post by cawgijoe on Jan 3, 2010 0:11:49 GMT -5
I love the Duet. But I will agree that at least in my system, the hard-wired option is much more robust vs the wireless option. I've hard-wired my system to the router and it works great.
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Post by Ghumbs on Jan 18, 2010 23:35:47 GMT -5
I'm a little confused here. You don't need a TV to use the Apple TV, you just need an iPod touch to use as the remote. It has the playlist on it. I'd much rather have the playlist on me than on a TV or on the unit. The Apple TV seems to be the best option and that's why I'm extremely close to adding it to my 2 channel system. What are the advantages to the others?
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