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Post by liffy99 on Jan 3, 2015 19:02:26 GMT
All this talk about computer based music, and recent success in improving the sound from my Logitech Touch, has had me looking at new approaches. One of these is to ditch the server completely and move to a Raspberry Pi based solution ( or Slice) and keep everything local without wifi.
i was amazed to find how large the capacity of USB stick storage has become, and so cheaply. So it dawned on me that I could get my 400gb music library (FLAC) onto a couple of sticks and plug them directly into the Touch.
but, just as it seems impossible to add a USB socket to my fibre-optic based Audi MMI system (£600 would do it, but subject to an unknown capacity limit) it seems the idea of using BIG USB on the touch is already doomed. I use a Mac, and file formats compatible with both Mac and Touch (Linux) seem limited. FAT32 might do it but there is a capacity limit. ExFAT would work with the Mac but the Touch does not support it. NTFS would be no use with the Mac.
Aaagghhh
it's enough to make you split your own nostrils open with a boat hook . . . . .
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Post by John on Jan 3, 2015 19:51:53 GMT
One of the issues with digital is compatibility It can be a minefield
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Post by stanleyb on Jan 3, 2015 20:03:28 GMT
USB sticks are slow to rad and write to. Playing high res files from them could be a problem. Onn top of that, USB sticks can be corrupted. So your music library would be in danger that way.
I have a NAS server, but I now use a W7 laptop as a server instead. It's far faster than my NAS and far more flexible. The laptop can be switched off and on via remote commands, so no issue with access.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jan 3, 2015 21:07:04 GMT
I'm waiting for the technology to sort itself out and you lot to tell me what I need when I decide to move  No rush as I'm dead happy with LP and CD |
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Post by brian2957 on Jan 3, 2015 21:37:07 GMT
Lighten up guys this is supposed to be enjoyable A voyage of discovery an' all that  |
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Post by Eduardo Wobblechops on Jan 3, 2015 22:55:02 GMT
There is also the problem that changing the usb on a Touch means it has to read the contents before you can play anything. Can take a while if it's large capacity.
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Post by stanleyb on Jan 4, 2015 9:20:56 GMT
The OP mentioned keeping up with technology. But experience shows that technology is a fake guide. Betamax and VCR were far superior to VHS, but the majority of buyers were not concerned with quality or the better technology. Convenience was the key. The same can be said about mp3 and other low bitrate audio formats. Very popular, even though most of us know it is of bog standard.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2015 9:47:07 GMT
Those of us who have been around a few years have seen considerable change. Sometimes for convenience, sometime because it represented a genuine 'advance', usually as it represented another way to skim a little off the top of my wallet.
I still have a good cassette player and it continues to offer satisfying music. The mini disc player went some time ago along with all the discs as I had an offer I couldn't refuse. It wasn't actually any more enjoyable that cassette but it was a lot more convenient. Open reel will continue to offer top quality sound along with a bit of faffing about.
As I'm one of those wierd people that use a Mac, I use iTunes with BitPerfect and find it more than adequate for my needs regarding stored digits. It is simple, effective and I don't have to spend hours trying to get the damn thing to work for me. It works and it's free. The difference between good lossless rips and CD is hardly worth bothering about.
Money is better spent on music than minute and often unnecessary changes to systems. As I have said ad nauseum, there are two different hobbies and two different sorts of people. I went through being a hi-fi fan when I was young and easily influenced but have returned to being what it was all about for me - a music fan.
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Post by MartinT on Jan 4, 2015 11:29:37 GMT
Betamax and VCR were far superior to VHS, but the majority of buyers were not concerned with quality or the better technology. Thank goodness the better format wins occasionally. Take 3D TVs, which are utter crap. Now it looks like 4k UHDTV will become a standard. Yay! I want a cinema in my home, not a tiresome novelty. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jan 4, 2015 11:35:19 GMT
Still with CRT here |
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Post by MartinT on Jan 4, 2015 13:01:44 GMT
I had a good CRT once. You will be astonished at how much better a good plasma or very good LCD with an HD broadcast can look.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jan 4, 2015 16:11:43 GMT
99% of what we watch comes from Tivo via SCART We'll get there eventually |
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Post by MartinT on Jan 4, 2015 17:20:45 GMT
The problem is, you'll have to start again. CRTs, Tivo and SCART are all obsolete.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jan 5, 2015 12:52:49 GMT
A 2nd hand plasma will have a SCART or 2
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Post by MartinT on Jan 5, 2015 13:19:41 GMT
Yes, the older flat screen sets will have a SCART socket.
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Post by liffy99 on Jan 5, 2015 13:29:14 GMT
That's the problem. A continued mucking about with standards.
In the good ol' days we had vinyl. And for years trying to get better sounds from a stable source meant we could chop and change our hardware, by CHOICE. The source remained constant.
Now they keep on changing standards, formats, connectivity methods etc meaning that you keep HAVING to change equipment to either improve sound, or simply avoid obsolesence and redundancy.
Take the issue with the Touch I started this thread with. A few years ago the problem was that storage was inadequate for whole music libraries. Now storage capacities and costs have improved so much, the Touch can't cope as it was not built with future proofing in mind (same goes for the limitations of FAT32 and exFAT).
We need modular approaches where individual elements (op. systems, connection options, storage capacities etc) can be individually changed. Another example is the Raspberry Pi based Slice which seems to favour the use of USB DACs. No use to me with a digital amp designed around SPDIF.
Grrrrrr
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Post by MikeMusic on Jan 6, 2015 9:26:20 GMT
One thing that may amuse you in this world of ever changing specs etc.
I run the company on FoxPro for DOS
Started life in 1989, cruised through Y2K being one of the few bits of software that was compliant
Still works. Not sure about W8 and later but it will run in a virtual window on W7
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Post by MartinT on Jan 6, 2015 13:04:10 GMT
Still works. Not sure about W8 and later but it will run in a virtual window on W7 It should be fine on W8.1. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jan 6, 2015 13:05:20 GMT
Ooh goody
Virtual XP type window or other ?
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Post by MartinT on Jan 6, 2015 14:02:53 GMT
I think 'XP Mode' was for W7 only. W8.1 includes Hyper-V so that you can create a virtual machine running, say, XP or W7 or another 32-bit OS. However, I can't see how it can run DOS directly as that's 16-bit, so running 16-bit DOS under a 32-bit OS under W8.1 seems a little cumbersome. A better solution might be VirtualBox under W8.1, in which you can run DOS directly. |
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