drh
05-08-2007, 11:16 AM
I hope I've got that title right. What I'm asking about is the Squeezebox and its ilk.
As many of you know, I'm wrestling with setting up a home music server. Originally, I'd figured that it would simply feed my directly adjacent main stereo, and if I wanted to pipe signal elsewhere I'd do so through a home network (don't have one now, and didn't want to add that level of complexity at the outset) of additional PCs. Belatedly, I've conceived the idea that it would be nice to enable my wife to access the system through a streamer from her studio downstairs, i.e., controlling the music computer remotely from a far-removed room without having a full-blown PC at hand, since (a) she doesn't use computers and (b) her space there is so limited that situating a PC would be a real pain. The Squeezebox seems a good solution, but an issue has arisen. I've been ripping to .ape, which seems to work better than .flac on my antiquated computer gear and which is more economical with disk space. Looking on the Web, the Squeezebox appears to work only with .flac, not with .ape, and the soundbridge doesn't appear to accept either. Is there an equivalent unit out there that will accept .ape? I'd really prefer not to mess with converting file formats; I'm already in the throes of reripping about 200 CDs because I messed up the files when I added a second drive to the machine earlier (a saga already detailed in another thread. Sigh....), and my early experiments with "automated" format conversion have turned into just another frustrating exercise in "your machine is too old to run this software" problems.
Thanks to all for their patience with this Victrola-lover's floundering efforts to drag himself from the 19th into the late 20th century (not to sure about this 21st stuff yet!). I appreciate any insights you can offer.
As many of you know, I'm wrestling with setting up a home music server. Originally, I'd figured that it would simply feed my directly adjacent main stereo, and if I wanted to pipe signal elsewhere I'd do so through a home network (don't have one now, and didn't want to add that level of complexity at the outset) of additional PCs. Belatedly, I've conceived the idea that it would be nice to enable my wife to access the system through a streamer from her studio downstairs, i.e., controlling the music computer remotely from a far-removed room without having a full-blown PC at hand, since (a) she doesn't use computers and (b) her space there is so limited that situating a PC would be a real pain. The Squeezebox seems a good solution, but an issue has arisen. I've been ripping to .ape, which seems to work better than .flac on my antiquated computer gear and which is more economical with disk space. Looking on the Web, the Squeezebox appears to work only with .flac, not with .ape, and the soundbridge doesn't appear to accept either. Is there an equivalent unit out there that will accept .ape? I'd really prefer not to mess with converting file formats; I'm already in the throes of reripping about 200 CDs because I messed up the files when I added a second drive to the machine earlier (a saga already detailed in another thread. Sigh....), and my early experiments with "automated" format conversion have turned into just another frustrating exercise in "your machine is too old to run this software" problems.
Thanks to all for their patience with this Victrola-lover's floundering efforts to drag himself from the 19th into the late 20th century (not to sure about this 21st stuff yet!). I appreciate any insights you can offer.