Moderators dtel Posted November 9, 2012 Moderators Share Posted November 9, 2012 Well it seems like all production has ended and not to be replaced with something new. I had looked at these and never did try it, went today to look again and found this. ( See link ) I did like how it had a nice size screen to make it easier to get around different sites. http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57519226-221/logitech-leaves-squeezebox-fans-wondering-whats-next/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I have been trying to figure this out for a while (not much effort on my part). I want to be able to stream off of the internet and access my server from stereos throughout the house. One promising solution is a DVD player like the new Oppo 93. The ability to add a docking station or server looks good. But my concern is being locked in and not being able to expand (like adding MOG or ther internet stations). Another thing that I have considered is repurposing a computer using somethign like GeeXbox, which is a very small os (150 mb) that looks like it will do everything. You can pick up a pretty fast laptop nowadays for about $300, which is less than most solutions. It should be lightning fast with an OS that can fit on the RAM. http://www.geexbox.org/about/what-is-geexbox/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Mama had a squeezebox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted November 9, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted November 9, 2012 Mama had a squeezebox. It's why were here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted November 9, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted November 9, 2012 But my concern is being locked in and not being able to expand (like adding MOG or ther internet stations). That's the problem I have with my Samsung Bd player, it streams but only what they give you app's for. For music It does Pandora and MOG only. I tried MOG but the app on the samsung is really bad and hard to navigate and I have to plug in a laptop to really make it usable. Also I would like to try other internet stations which I can't do with the Samsung. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Check out the geexbox site I linked above. This look sreally promising because it should boot quickly and run fast with the small OS. Plus a laptop is upgradeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Plus a laptop is upgradeable. What do you mean by 'upgradeable'? I get some of the older PCs from work, so I have an abundance of computers.Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I just mean in simple terms, it is a computer so you are not boxed in to, say a dvd players loaded software and their contracts from whom you are to get your service (Pandora, Netflix, etc). About 6 years ago Geexbox was about 14mb. It is now ten times the size a does a lot more, and even at TEN TIMES THE SIZE (whew!!) it is still only 150 mb. It is not proprietary so I am guessing that you can access any streaming music service that you like. It is ran by a computer so you can add any size NAS or external drive you like. The only reason why I keep sayign laptop is that they run almost silent, which is ideal for an entertainment center. If you have old computers, imagine replacing an old OS like XP at about 4 gb (which I really like) with an entire OS that is only 150 mb. The computer should run very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted November 9, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted November 9, 2012 Another thing that I have considered is repurposing a computer using somethign like GeeXbox, which is a very small os (150 mb) that looks like it will do everything. You can pick up a pretty fast laptop nowadays for about $300, which is less than most solutions. It should be lightning fast with an OS that can fit on the RAM. http://www.geexbox.org/about/what-is-geexbox/ Your right a computer is the smartest way, mostly it's not tied to any brand features. It's probably the most reliable also. It would be nice to have the computer wireless to whatever you use to play music. This way it could be carried to another room or sofa, like a big remote with all options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Sucks that Logitech has killed the Squeezebox line. Those are (were) really nice units and were not to terribly expensive either, especially considering what they were capable of doing. Setting up a spare computer is probably the most inexpensive way to do something like this now-a-days, I personally have a Pioneer Elite N-50 unit, which is also being used as an outboard DAC for my CD player and my Via!DJ music server. Yeah, it does not have any "built in" services like MOG or Pandora, but I can easily "AirPlay" such services from my iPad through the Pioneer unit, thus not realying on some propatary software, not to mention being able to stream music from any computer or NAS via DLNA (I have 5 terabyte server setup in the back room). I can also stream "internet radio" through the thing as well. Not only that, the Pioneer unit is quiet and it is an actual audio component. The downside? The thing is not cheap at $700, but I've seen similar units go for quite a bit more that does less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Thanks for the geexbox link, Tigger! I am looking forward to checking it out. I've Linux'd a number of machines in the past but have been loathe to recommend it to Joe TurnTable as when it doesn't work it's even worse than Windows. However, when it does its fast and smooth. This one looks like it also has the advantage of being purposed for music out of the box. Looking forward to it, and will report. Windows 98SE was the last MS distro that could be loaded as "compact edition" in less than 200mb...can you imagine that???? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Dave, You should check out LitePC... http://www.litepc.com/ Pretty neat stuff if you need a smaller Windows install. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Dave, Jeeze, 98 seemed to take a while to install and load. Hope that Geexbox is easier. I have been wanting to do this for a while but it is a back burner project. I feel better that a heavyweight is now looking at it. I will look forward to your comment. There are some others out there too: http://www.mythtv.org/ http://xbmc.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 bummer. love my duet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 I will look forward to your comment. Okies...it hasn't made a sound yet. OTOH: What an AWESOME Linux distro. Configuring a USB flash drive with it and being ready to boot took all of the length of time to download plus 5 minutes...maybe 20 all told. The boot was maybe 15 seconds after post and the default screens are like Windows Media Center exept MUCH faster, more straightforward, and rational. It located my media drive and when I went to "music" maybe 5 minutes after boot every gigabyte was present and accounted for. Since it seemed to be playing something I'd clicked on, I went to "Settings" and noted it ID'd the presense of my Zonar soundcard fine...but it's silent and there was no "test" option nor could I find and diagnostics to report on stuff. So...bottom line, all of the above is perhaps all of 45 minutes and I'm convinced I'll figure out the issue or get a response from the geexbox forums. This is obviously very new and there don't seem to be a lot of folks out there yet...but I think it's gonna be big. I'd suggest this: If you have a computer that can be set to boot from USB or select it via a boot manager (often F12 pressed during post...before the "Windows Starting" screen) you've nothing to lose but 30 minutes or so giving this a try. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Well, gents, still silent. I'd never spend this much time on something except this thing is SO promising and one of the developers is attempting to help. I became even more discouraged when I booted a basic system with a garden variety SoundBlaster card with precisely the same result. That was enough to tell me it's the OS and not a hardware issue. While I was messing with it the PAW came in for something and said "Wow! What a cool looking interface!" Yep, WAF good...that is rare. Now, if only I could get some sound from it! So cool having it on a USB such that one could (assuming it would make noise!) boot on whatever is handy and have a fully functional complete media system at one's disposal. Oh, well...we'll see. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Windows 98SE was the last MS distro that could be loaded as "compact edition" in less than 200mb...can you imagine that???? Forgot to mention that98SE can be installed smaller than 75mb... [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I was being conservative. Seems like it was more like 100mb, but who would believe that now? The Amiga OS was far more robust, flexible, and actually multi-tasking (few even know the actual definition of that word anymore) and would install in 12mb. Sigh... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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