Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
snarlydwarf;500458 Wrote: > But I still love my Radio... the form factor and sound are just too nice > to let go of despite "well it could be better.." things. And that's the problem we face. I am leaning towards that same attitude. -- jrebeiro jrebeiro's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=23054 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
jrebeiro;500440 Wrote: > > I also tracked down the random reboot issue to a problem with AAC > encoded files. When I reencoded the tracks to MP3 they played without > rebooting the device. You should submit that as a bug and attach one of the this-makes-my-radio-crash files to it. Sounds like some bug in the decoder or possibly the encoder ... since AAC playback is moving to the players, it is important for it to be robust. [I say it could be an encoder bug because I know of at least one buggy FLAC encoder that would not only crash SB's, but also confused the heck out of the official flac decoder... someone got tricky in their code and was emitting bad data.] > > Regardless of my decision to keep the Radio or not, the decision to > omit backlit buttons was a mistake on Logitech's part. For those who > don't like the lights, a setting could be made to turn them off. If cost > was an issue, I highly doubt a $209 MSRP price point would deter > potential buyers. Most retailers are selling the device for $149 anyway > so I doubt the price would really increase. Yes, a backlight could probably be done for the cost of adding an LED either letting the gaps around buttons leak light for side illumination and/or having a transparent part of the button. Not a huge engineering change, but these days any change gets spendy. (Ah, the olden days of 'Engineering Change Orders' that specified running wire from one spot on a PCB to another... and socketed chips...) But I still love my Radio... the form factor and sound are just too nice to let go of despite "well it could be better.." things. -- snarlydwarf snarlydwarf's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1179 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
toby10;500327 Wrote: > Yeah, I tried this last night in a very dark room, was no help. > The only buttons even slightly visible with a bright screen were the > Presets. That's most likely because they are metallic and right next to the display. > Ok, so you've listed at least half a dozen reasons why the Radio is > inferior to the Boom. So why switch? I asked for the device for Christmas after seeing it online and my wife got it for me. At the time, I didn't know about these flaws. While I really like the form-factor, the future battery pack addition, the possibility of cool screensavers on that screen, etc. the device does not meet up to the standard set by my Boom. I still have not decided to keep it yet and still have some time to make that decision (90 days since it was purchased on our AMEX). The point of this thread was to determine if the problems I have discovered are fixable or not. Obviously, the backlight issue is not. The Sleep button issue was fixed by the KidsPlay plugin which I LOVE! I also tracked down the random reboot issue to a problem with AAC encoded files. When I reencoded the tracks to MP3 they played without rebooting the device. Regardless of my decision to keep the Radio or not, the decision to omit backlit buttons was a mistake on Logitech's part. For those who don't like the lights, a setting could be made to turn them off. If cost was an issue, I highly doubt a $209 MSRP price point would deter potential buyers. Most retailers are selling the device for $149 anyway so I doubt the price would really increase. -- jrebeiro jrebeiro's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=23054 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
jrebeiro;500217 Wrote: > I think in a dark room in the middle of the night the full screen > brightness might hinder more than it helps. Especially if it kicks in > when you touch a button which means the screen is going from very dim to > really bright. Deer in the headlights anyone?.. Yeah, I tried this last night in a very dark room, was no help. The only buttons even slightly visible with a bright screen were the Presets. -- toby10 toby10's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=12553 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
kmr;500240 Wrote: > YMMV. My Radio is about 3 feet from my face when I'm in bed, and its > time display is significantly larger than the Sony CD clock radio it > replaced. My only gripe is that the auto-dim gets a little too dim. > And I think you're dismissing the battery option way too lightly. The > Radio is way too nifty a device to be relegated to use as merely a fancy > alarm clock; the battery will liberate it from the bedside, giving it > instant drag-it-around-the-house portability and enabling us to enjoy it > throughout the day. The standard digital clock is very readable and has bigger numbers then the usual 7 segment LED. I think it's pretty readable, and my eyesight is poor. The analog clock, however, could be made less "fancy" and more bold (with option of a second hand!) The autodim is indeed slightly too dim; it would be nice to have a minimum brightness option. I think the lack of backlit buttons is the Radios major "flaw" but I cannot speak for the alarm functionality or software problems as I've not yet encountered any, other then the issue with cross-fade. Agree with what someone said about Facebook - it's blatant nonsense to appeal to the masses. You can't really blame em for that tho. I just ignore it. Lawrence -- Aslak3 (SB 2, SB Boom, SB Radio) Aslak3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=31977 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
JJZolx;500238 Wrote: > Other than the color screen (which, IMO, is much too small for any kind > of clock) and maybe the dedicated volume knob, there's nothing that > could be called an improvement over the Boom. The battery option makes > it more portable than the Boom, but doesn't even come into play for a > bedside radio. YMMV. My Radio is about 3 feet from my face when I'm in bed, and its time display is significantly larger than the Sony CD clock radio it replaced. My only gripe is that the auto-dim gets a little too dim. And I think you're dismissing the battery option way too lightly. The Radio is way too nifty a device to be relegated to use as merely a fancy alarm clock; the battery will liberate it from the bedside, giving it instant drag-it-around-the-house portability and enabling us to enjoy it throughout the day. -- kmr kmr's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10664 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
Ok, so you've listed at least half a dozen reasons why the Radio is inferior to the Boom. So why switch? IMO the Boom makes a much better clock-radio replacement. The Radio was designed and produced to be sold at a lower price point. Other than the color screen (which, IMO, is much too small for any kind of clock) and maybe the dedicated volume knob, there's nothing that could be called an improvement over the Boom. The battery option makes it more portable than the Boom, but doesn't even come into play for a bedside radio. -- JJZolx Jim JJZolx's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
sander;500209 Wrote: > > When I mentioned this in another thread before the developer of the > awesome auto-dim mentioned he would have to write a Squeezeplay applet > to make the radio dim. Maybe the bug MC mentions prevents him from doing > that I don't know. I think you may be talking about me, but I'm merely an AutoDim user who turned into a de facto maintainer because I couldn't live without it -- AutoDim has had a number of maintainers over the years, and is a success story for Free Software licensing (and a reason why Logitech needs to address bug 14194). That said, there's another bug that's actually more relevant to AutoDim on Radio (and Touch) -- number '11442' (https://bugs.slimdevices.com/show_bug.cgi?id=11442). Unfortunately many of the settings for Controller, Radio, and Touch exist only on the Squeezebox itself. If the brightness and screensaver settings for Radio were available in Squeezebox Server, it would probably be pretty easy to adapt AutoDim for Radio and Touch -- at least for those of us running Squeezebox Server. Bug 14194 is more of an impediment for MySqueezebox.com users, and other things that some of us developers would like to do. -- peterw http://www.tux.org/~peterw/ Free plugins: 'AllQuiet' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/AllQuiet.html) 'Auto Dim/AutoDisplay' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/AutoDisplay.html) 'BlankSaver' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/BlankSaver.html) 'ContextMenu' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/ContextMenu.html) 'FuzzyTime' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/FuzzyTime.html) 'KidsPlay' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/KidsPlay.html) 'KitchenTimer' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/KitchenTimer.html) 'PlayLog' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/PlayLog.html) 'PowerCenter/BottleRocket' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/PowerCenter.html) 'SaverSwitcher' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/SaverSwitcher.html) 'SettingsManager' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/SettingsManager.html) 'SleepFade' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/SleepFade.html) 'StatusFirst' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/StatusFirst.html) 'SyncOptions' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/SyncOptions.html) 'VolumeLock' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/VolumeLock.html) peterw's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2107 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
toby10;500107 Wrote: > Or is even full screen Brightness not enough to help with night time > button navigation? I think in a dark room in the middle of the night the full screen brightness might hinder more than it helps. Especially if it kicks in when you touch a button which means the screen is going from very dim to really bright. Deer in the headlights anyone? The more I think about it the less of an issue it becomes for me. If I wasn't used to the feature on the Boom I wouldn't even have complained about it. It's just been a little confusing moving from the Boom to the Radio when the buttons have been completely moved around. So I end up pressing the Home button to power it off. And since the button is not illuminated I don't realize it until I hit the button. It just annoys me somewhat that they named this product "baby boom" and there isn't very much "boom" in it aside from the look of the buttons and it sounds almost as nice as the Boom. -- jrebeiro jrebeiro's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=23054 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
snarlydwarf;500190 Wrote: > I don't see what that has to do with a backlit LCD display vs a VFD > display which is what ModelCitizen was citing. I meant that add-on developers have found ways to work around problems like this in the past. They obviously can't overcome oversights in the hardware, but a number of plugins like auto-dim over come limitations like the blacking out the boom, which I use. When I mentioned this in another thread before the developer of the awesome auto-dim mentioned he would have to write a Squeezeplay applet to make the radio dim. Maybe the bug MC mentions prevents him from doing that I don't know. -- sander sander's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10737 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
sander;500186 Wrote: > To me it boils down to the fact that as good as the underlying > technology is, the overall worth of the Squeeze tech is tied to the > plugins and support of third party developers. All of the cool new > devices that have come out since the SB3 have all had major oversights > which should have been addressed. > I don't see what that has to do with a backlit LCD display vs a VFD display which is what ModelCitizen was citing. Unfortunately LCD's need a backlight to work in most cases... certainly in a dark room, but that is by nature going to leak -some- light. It's the nature of the technology and has nothing to do with 3rd party developers. Considering VFD's are expensive and getting very hard to find, while LCD's are getting cheaper and cheaper and easy to find, I don't see a real 'solution' for customers. Like most things in life it's a compromise... my nice LCD TV is very pretty until 4:3 stuff runs and the 'black bars' on the side are not black at all, but a very dark grey. -- snarlydwarf snarlydwarf's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1179 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
ModelCitizen;40 Wrote: > However, the reason I've given up using my radio as my bedroom alarm > clock and stuck the too-large Boom back on my small bedside table is > that the radio screen is too bright to sleep next too and (unlike the > Boom) it is not possible to reduce its minimum brightness. > > It's a real shame, the Radio is so nearly brilliant, but for me the > stupid (and totally unnecessary) flaws make it impractical for use. I > have trouble understanding how it could have been released with what > appear to be very damaging but easily solvable software flaws (backlit > buttons excepting, obviously). There must something quite awry with > Logitech management that really needs sorting out if this product line > is to continue with any success. To me it boils down to the fact that as good as the underlying technology is, the overall worth of the Squeeze tech is tied to the plugins and support of third party developers. All of the cool new devices that have come out since the SB3 have all had major oversights which should have been addressed. Unfortunately the developer supports seems to be falling off, and I'm skeptical it will come back unless the pace of change slows down and there's more openness, at least that's what I've seen as non-developer. -- sander sander's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10737 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
ModelCitizen;40 Wrote: > > However, the reason I've given up using my radio as my bedroom alarm > clock and stuck the too-large Boom back on my small bedside table is > that the radio screen is too bright to sleep next too and (unlike the > Boom) it is not possible to reduce its minimum brightness... I agree wholeheartedly on the lack of backlit buttons. I don't use my Radio next to my bed nor do I use the Alarm function. But... I wonder if a future tweak to the Brightness behavior (Logitech or third party) could help solve or greatly minimize both issues of Brightness and no backlit buttons. Starting with more user Brightness control (min, max, etc...) per state of the player, like is offered on Boom and SB3 where you have separate Brightness control settings for On, Idle, Off. Then, to make the Radio buttons more visible, add a temporary and timed Brightness setting. Example 1: In idle (very dim screen, clock showing, alarm set) a knob turn would set the screen Brightness to high for 10 seconds, helping to illuminate the front buttons. Example 2: Alarm Brightness setting, when Alarm sounds the screen goes full bright, again making the controls for Snooze or Alarm Off more visible. Or is even full screen Brightness not enough to help with night time button navigation? -- toby10 toby10's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=12553 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
ModelCitizen;40 Wrote: > > However, the reason I've given up using my radio as my bedroom alarm > clock and stuck the too-large Boom back on my small bedside table is > that the radio screen is too bright to sleep next too and (unlike the > Boom) it is not possible to reduce its minimum brightness. I have the opposite problem, I find the display too dim for me at night and would like to increase the minimum brightness. And while I am talking about brightness what is the deal with the slow non-gradual auto-dim? It jumps a number of steps of brightness every second and appears to flicker rather than dim. Now that I found that sleep plugin I'm going to give the Radio it's fair shot. The non-existent backlit buttons are hard to swallow but I guess I can deal for getting more space on my nightstand back. So right now, the main annoyances are the minimum brightness and the random reboots which I think may be due to the audio being in AAC format. I am going to re-encode to MP3 to see if anything improves. -- jrebeiro jrebeiro's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=23054 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
I have to agree about the backlit buttons, a real mistake for an alarm/radio box. The alarm/sleep/snooze implementation is also poor, horribly fiddly, misleading and badly thought out. On the plus side though the screen is superb and the seperate volume and nagigation knob an obvious advantage over the Booms hacked single-knob implementation. However, the reason I've given up using my radio as my bedroom alarm clock and stuck the too-large Boom back on my small bedside table is that the radio screen is too bright to sleep next too and (unlike the Boom) it is not possible to reduce its minimum brightness. It's a real shame, the Radio is so nearly brilliant, but for me the stupid (and totally unnecessary) flaws make it impractical for use. I have trouble understanding how it could have been released with what appear to be very damaging but easily solvable software flaws (backlit buttons excepting, obviously). There must something quite awry with Logitech management that really needs sorting out if this product line is to continue with any success. While I'm here, the Facebook stuff (app.. ha ha ha) is just plain stupid. Whichever Logitech manager was responsable for that should be taken outside and shot. MC -- ModelCitizen Think the third party Squeeze plugins and applets are important? Then 'vote for bug 14194' (http://bugs.slimdevices.com/show_bug.cgi?id=14194) so more can be made. Last.fm/user/ModelCitizen ModelCitizen's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=446 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
I am using Squuezebox Server Version: 7.4.1 - r28947 @ Tue Oct 20 07:58:02 PDT 2009 Your plugin sounds like just the trick I was looking for. My basic usage of the sleep timer is to load up a random song in my Pzizz Sleep album then set the sleep timer to end of song. If the plugin can do exactly that then I am sold! -- jrebeiro jrebeiro's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=23054 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
jrebeiro;499098 Wrote: > > The sleep timer is not intuitive at all. It's well hidden in the > settings. Even adding it directly to the home screen is still not as > easy as the Boom. It should really be placed either in the popup you get > when pushing the knob in the Now Playing screen or should be the default > action for long pressing the Alarm button since there is no physical > snooze/sleep button like there is on the Boom.. If you use Squeezebox Server, you can remap one of the 6 numbered buttons with my KidsPlay plugin. You'd use a macro like *button sleep* if you want to cycle through the various normal sleep times (end of song, 15m, 30m, etc.). You can also make the button do more complex things like start a certain playlist at a certain volume and then start the sleep timer: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showpost.php?p=441521&postcount=9 -- peterw http://www.tux.org/~peterw/ Free plugins: 'AllQuiet' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/AllQuiet.html) 'Auto Dim/AutoDisplay' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/AutoDisplay.html) 'BlankSaver' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/BlankSaver.html) 'ContextMenu' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/ContextMenu.html) 'FuzzyTime' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/FuzzyTime.html) 'KidsPlay' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/KidsPlay.html) 'KitchenTimer' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/KitchenTimer.html) 'PlayLog' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/PlayLog.html) 'PowerCenter/BottleRocket' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/PowerCenter.html) 'SaverSwitcher' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/SaverSwitcher.html) 'SettingsManager' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/SettingsManager.html) 'SleepFade' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/SleepFade.html) 'StatusFirst' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/StatusFirst.html) 'SyncOptions' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/SyncOptions.html) 'VolumeLock' (http://www.tux.org/~peterw/slim/VolumeLock.html) peterw's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2107 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
Re: [SlimDevices: Radio] Disappointed by Boom to Radio switch
- Radio alarm functionality is being worked, stay tuned - correct, no backlit buttons on Radio - no tone controls (bass, treble) on Radio - reboots: Radio requires SqueezeBox Server v7.4. Are you running 7.4? -- toby10 toby10's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=12553 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73045 ___ Radio mailing list Radio@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
