Boulderguy;533028 Wrote: > Testers, what is your subjective opinion on how the Touch improves on > the SB3 in terms of practical, everyday use? >
1. Audio quality is comparable or even slightly better on the Touch depending on what amplifier/speaker/DAC you connect it to. 2. IR control is still slightly better on the SB3, the reason is SB3 is better is because Touch has two modes, touch-mode and IR-mode. When you hit the IR, the first remote click is ignored if it's currently in touch mode, the click will just trigger the touch to switch to IR-mode. The VFD on the SB3 also works a little bit better than the LCD with the current coloring scheme of the IR-mode. It's not a big issue though, you get used to it. I still personally feel that the IR skin hasn't gotten the styling it deserves in the current software release, it feels like most focus has been on the touch-mode. 3. The large color screen on the Touch is beautiful and for me this is the biggest enhancement compared to the SB3. It has so great potential not only to show album covers and artist images but also for other things like weather applets, photo viewer and similar screen savers. The third party screen saver possibilities with this screen is just huge. 4. I think the built-in server is very useful in two scenarios: - Simple users, your parents for example, that just want to be able to select their music and play it or mostly listen to internet radio. - For simple and advanced users that often have friends visiting with USB sticks with music files. IMHO, all advanced users will be better off with a standalone server, the built-in server is just too restricted with no transcoding support, no third party plugins and no web interface. I also suspect you can expect better performance with a standalone server in most cases. If you don't like a "computer", get a Sheevaplug, Vortexbox or something similar that doesn't look like a computer and doesn't use electric power like a computer. The built-in server isn't useless, it will be great for the two use cases mentioned above. I think a lot of users are going to start using the built-in server but after a while switch to a standalone server when they realize that it offers so much more. 5. The touch interface is great unless you have a Controller or iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad (with iPeng) beside you. In many cases, the touch interface is a lot easier to navigate than the IR interface, especially if you aren't sure what you like to listen to or want to search for something (LazySearch doesn't work on the Touch yet) But to sum it up, there is no way I'd go back to my old SB3, the color screen is the thing that makes me love it. The SB3 in my home has permanently been degraded to a cool clock using the Time Speller plugin. Boulderguy;533028 Wrote: > > How does the use of a USB HD compare to using the SB server software? > Does it eliminate the 2-10 sec delays so common with the server? > Having the music collection reside on the SB is my primary motivation > for getting a touch, is it worth it? > Hopefully someone else that have used the built-in server a bit more can give you a more detailed answer on this specific question. Boulderguy;533028 Wrote: > > The thing you wish you knew before getting it? > Placement is very important, the color screen has pretty good visibility when viewed from above, but as soon your head is a bit below the screen it looses a lot of contrast. So you should definitely think twice if you plan to place the Touch at some high location above your head. It will still work but you will have to arrange it so you can tilt it downwards to get decent contrast on the screen. -- erland Erland Isaksson 'My homepage' (http://erland.isaksson.info) (Install my plugins through Extension Downloader) (Developer of 'TrackStat, SQLPlayList, DynamicPlayList, Custom Browse, Custom Scan, Custom Skip, Multi Library, Title Switcher and Database Query plugins' (http://wiki.erland.isaksson.info/index.php/Category:SlimServer)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ erland's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3124 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=77145 _______________________________________________ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
