the nightfly wrote: > So, I've been gone for many months and come back here to find lots of > unfamiliar names being tossed around: SqueezePlug/SqueezeLite/Community > Squeeze/Wandboard/Raspberry-Pi. All with long threads filled with > hundreds of techie-jargon-filled posts which only make this layman > thoroughly confused as to what a given product is supposed to be -- a > player replacement, a player/server combo, something else entirely? > > So, if it isn't too much trouble, could someone post a quick summary of > any project or projects being undertaken to create an actual "Squeezebox > replacement?" Particularly, let me ask the question: if my SB Touch > were to die tomorrow, or next month, what options would I have to > replace it with something that would be able to stream music over wi-fi > from a computer or NAS running LMS, and outputting that music to a DAC > at 24/96 resolution? A clear, simple summary would be greatly > appreciated! > Quick summary of the ones I'm aware of:
SQUEEZEPLUG http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?97709-SqueezePlug-for-Raspberry-Pi-version-6-ready-for-download http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?90931-SqueezePlug-Media-Server-4-0-(final-Release) Software distribution for SheevaPlug based hardware which also works on the Raspberry Pi hardware. Initially designed to be a LMS server but these days SqueezeLite can be installed to make it a player also. Typically it requires a an external DAC to get audio quality close to a Squeezebox Touch. SQUEEZELITE http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?97046-Announce-Squeezelite-a-small-headless-squeezeplay-emulator-for-linux-(alsa-only) http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?97766-Announce-Local-Player-plugin-and-Squeezelite-for-Linux-Windows-OSX Software player distributed as a plugin which makes it possible to use your computer and the soundcard in it as a player. Can be used on ARM based platforms such as Raspberry Pi, SheevaPlug or Wandboard or on Intel based platforms like your normal computer. Typically it requires a an external DAC to get audio quality close to a Squeezebox Touch, the exception is the Community Squeeze project which will have a really good built-in DAC. COMMUNITY SQUEEZE http://www.communitysqueeze.org/faq.jsp http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?98521-Announce-Community-Squeeze http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?98544-Community-Squeeze-OS-R3 Consists of both software and hardware designed by community members with the intention to be able to be an alternative for Logitech based Squeezebox hardware. Currently only the software distribution is available but they are working hard on the hardware part. It uses the CPU card from the Wandboard as a base but will provide an add-on hardware card which provides what we need to get excellent audio quality out of it. It uses SqueezeLite as a player. VAMP http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?97721-Logitech-SqueezeBox-replacement-for-under-30 Cheap DIY hardware project which base its player hardware on SqueezeLite with the intention to make a cheap replacement for a Touch for people with an external DAC. WANDBOARD http://wandboard.org/ The hardware which contains the CPU card which is the base for the Community Squeezebox project. Can be used as a player already today, but to get decent audio quality you need an external DAC. RASPBERRY PI http://www.raspberrypi.org/ The hardware which is used in VAMP. Can be used as a player already today, but to get decent audio quality you need an external DAC. Can also be used together with the SheevaPlug distribution. VORTEXBOX http://vortexbox.org Software and hardware platform, initially designed to be a media server hosting LMS, but these days it also bundles a player so you can use it both as a server and player. The software can be used either on a dedicated Vortexbox Appliance hardware or on your own computer. ICKSTREAM MUSIC PLATFORM http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?98467-Pre-Announcement-ickStream-Music-Platform http://blog.ickstream.com/ Software project with the intention to create the next generation music streaming platform based on the experience from Squeezebox. It's currently in a closed beta phase and the intention is that any hardware vendor that wants to use it should be able license it to use it on their hardware platform. Will focus on providing a solution for people who are interested in having access both to local music and online music, will integrate with LMS and other music servers for local music and provide its own cloud server for integration with online streaming services. >From a hardware perspective, my feeling is that the Community Squeeze is most promising for people who like excellent audio quality, especially if you want a device with an excellent built-in DAC. It will hopefully also be possible to combine with ickStream Music Platform so we also can get great support for online services. For people who want a cheaper solution than the current Touch and have an external DAC, it might be worth to look into VAMP or SqueezePlug based on a Raspberry Pi, just make sure the DAC is compatible with the Raspberry Pi, I know some asynchronous USB DAC's have issues on the Raspberry Pi. If you aren't in a hurry, I would wait and see how all these projects develops during the next 6 months. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ erland's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3124 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=98886 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
