Tag: UPnP

The XBox One now to have DLNA as part of major software update

Articles

Xbox One to Finally Include DLNA Support | Broadband News & DSL Reports

XBOX One will learn to play media from USB and DLNA sources | The Register

The Xbox One is getting major media updates: here’s a breakdown | Engadget

My Comments

XBox One games console press photo courtesy Microsoft

The XBox One now to be DLNA-capable

The XBox 360 games console originally came out with the ability to play content held on a UPnP AV / DLNA media server and was one of the first devices pitched to the mass market to do so. This also underscored the multi-function abilities that was the direction for game-console design.

But, when the XBox One came out, this console didn’t have much in the way of media playback beyond DVDs and some online services. This is even though Microsoft had touted it as being part of one’s media-consumption ecosystem with highly-integrated media behavour.

Now a major “version-2” software update has opened the doors for a file-based media player that allows you to play media from USB Mass-Storage Devices as well as that which exists on a UPnP AV / DLNA media server that is on your home network. This is also augmented by the support for a plethora of file formats like MPEG2 TS and MKV. The Register article placed doubts on support for MKV due to it being used for illegitimate torrented material, but it could also be about “prepping” for access to legitimate “download-to-own” video content.

DVB digital TV tuner module for XBox One press image courtesy Microsoft

DVB digital TV tuner module for XBox One

It also adds extra paths for access to broadcast content through your XBox One such as a USB DVB-T tuner module for digital TV in Europe and Oceania, or access to the DLNA-based broadcast-LAN tuners like most SAT-IP compliant satellite units or an increasing number of the HDHomeRun units available for North American or European use.

This is a step for Microsoft to claw back the multifunction abilities that these consoles have and make them earn their keep as a video solution for the secondary lounge area, college dorm or other similar living areas.

D-Link offers a wireless network extender that is a network music player

Article

Extend Your Network, Listen To Music With D-Link’s New Adapter  | SmallNetBuilder

From the horse’s mouth

D-Link

DCH-M225 Wi-Fi Audio Extender

Press Release

Product Page

My Comments

D-Link are another company who are emulating the success of the Apple AirPort Express multifunction device by offering a device that works as a 2.4GHz wireless range extender or a network audio player for the home network.

The DCH-M225 Wi-Fi Audio Extender can extend a 2.4GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi segment’s range using dual-stream technology and WPS “push-to-connect” enrolment. Or it can work as a Wi-Fi-connected audio player according to either AirPlay or DLNA MediaRenderer standards, thus making it feasible to play out music from your smartphone, tablet or computer to your favourite stereo equipment that is connected to this device. It would earn its keep in the “smartphone-based DLNA’ setups as well as with music piled up on a DLNA media server as described in this feature article.

Personally, if I wanted this device to be a direct competitor to what Apple offers, it would have to have an Ethernet port so it can also work either as a wireless client bridge or an access point as well as the music player and wireless-network range extender.

At least D-Link is using the audio playback functionality as a way to differentiate itself from the horde of wireless-network extenders that is being offered.

UPnP+ links non-IP devices to wide-area networks

Article

UPnP+ links non-IP devices to wide-area networks | EETasia

My Comments

The recent extension of the UPnP Device Architecture specifications, known as UPnP+ is being worked on at the moment by the UPnP Forum. This is to extend the reach of the UPnP Device Architecture specification sets to satisfy certain new realities.

One key reality is to make UPnP work properly with the “Internet Of Everything” concept. This is where devices are able to interlink with each other and share their information in a manner not dissimilar to the concept associated with the Internet.

It will be achieved with native support for IPv6 across IP networks. This takes advantage of the huge number of addresses this standard offers compared to the legacy IPv4 which most of the Internet works on at the moment.

As well, a SensorBridge Device Class will be defined. This caters for the “bridge” device that links sensors and similar devices that work on non-IP networks with IP-based networks. The article talked of the non-IP wireless-sensor networks as being Zigbee, Z-Wave and ANT which take advantage of low-power low-overhead operation suited for those fields. These devices could be represented by “black-box” devices that stand between an Ethernet or Wi-Fi-based home network and the sensors or controllers such as the Honeywell Evohome Mobile Access Kit, but could also be represented as software integrated in either a router that also has a Zigbee or Z-Wave interface or a smartphone, tablet or laptop with Bluetooth 4.0 Smart interface.

There will also be inherent support for cloud-based “hosted” services to be part of the UPnP ecosystem. Of course, I find that the term “cloud” alludes a lot to services hosted by other parties away from the main home network, typically to provide remote access from smartphones, tablets and other computers connected via the Internet. In the context of “Internet Of Everything”, it could extend to service providers like utilities or monitored-alarm companies using this data to participate in the “Smart home” concept.

I would see this come in to its own with home and other networks that are operating along the line of “Internet Of Everything” and this could be supported with newer devices that have newer UPnP+ firmware in place.

Why do I give space on this site to the network-capable CD receiver?

Regular readers may have noticed me giving some space to the network-capable CD receiver of the same ilk as the Rotel RCX-1500, Naim Uniti series, the Cyrus Lyric series and Sony’s newest offering in the form of the MAP-S1. I am writing about why I give coverage to these systems as a network-capable music-system option.

The rise, fall and renaissance of the high-quality integrated system.

Cyrus Lyric network-enabled CD receiver

Cyrus Lyric network-enabled CD receiver

These followed on from the “music centres” or “compact stereos” of the 1970s and 1980s which housed a turntable, receiver, cassette and / or 8-track cartridge deck in one box connected to a pair of separate speakers. Systems of that class that were worth buying approached a functionality and sound-quality standard that was equivalent to a baseline component-style hi-fi system.

Some users preferred to buy this class of integrated music system because of the fact that it was simpler to use or understand and there was less to worry about compared to a component-based hi-fi system. In some cases, it meant that the system ended up being used by more members of the household for more music-enjoyment tasks rather than one or two highly-knowledgeable people.

This kind of standard for integrated home audio had died out through the late 1980s with Bang & Olufsen, Bose, Proton, Onkyo and a few others carrying the flag through the 1990s and beyond. This was while integrated systems that most people could afford at that time didn’t hit the mark for sound quality or, in a lot of cases, functionality or build quality.

The category resurfaced in the late 1990s with NAD, Denon, Onkyo and a few others offered CD receivers and DVD receivers that didn’t come with a set of matching speakers. One UK hi-fi magazine even described it as the return of the 1970s-era music centre. Onkyo even fielded a system that could be considered today’s equivalent of the music centre by offering the FR-435 which had a CD player, FM receiver and MiniDisc deck in one box.

The network-capable CD receivers mentioned here take on the CD-receiver concept and become part of the home network to provide access to Internet radio, online music services and music stored on that network.

The typical network-capable CD receiver

Amplifier design

Rotel RCX-1500 CD receiver

Rotel RCX-1500 CD receiver

These CD receivers are typically built with amplification sections that could approach that or, in some cases, be equivalent to. a competently-designed baseline integrated hi-fi amplifier. This means that they can be used with any pair of competent speakers that the customer chooses to use it with.

There are a few examples of this concerning music systems of this class that come to my mind. One was a demo setup for the Onkyo FR-435 CD/MiniDisc receiver which involved it being connected to a pair of floor-standing hi-fi speakers made by a hi-fi “name of respect” and I had played a personal-compilation MiniDisc through this setup with it performing very competently..

Another was the review setup that International Dynamics provided me with when I reviewed the Rotel RCX-1500 network-capable CD receiver. This setup consisted of the CD receiver and a pair of Cabasse Antigua bookshelf hi-fi speakers connected with a pair of very-low-resistance hi-fi-grade speaker cables.

Marantz CR603 CD receiver

Marantz CR603 CD receiver – One of the many DLNA-capable hi-fi components shown at the Australian Audio & AV Show

Similarly, when I was at the Australian Audio & AV Show 2013, I had seen and heard a preview sample of the Cyrus Lyric network-capable CD receiver in full flight with a pair of Quadral Montan floor-standing speakers. This was, at one time, streaming music from a Bluetooth-connected phone or, earlier on, playing music off a CD.

These systems can easily serve certain realities concerning the availability of speakers.

One could be that you already ended up with a pair of good speakers. For example, you have ended up with Dad’s old Klipsch hi-fi speakers when your family were clearing out your parents’ house after he passed away and Mum had to move to supported accommodation. Or you went to an estate sale or auction and ended up with a pair of hi-fi speakers of a respected audio name that were in good condition for pennies’ worth.

On the other hand, you could be able to buy the CD receiver with a pair of speakers that suit your needs and budget at the hi-fi store you were buying it from. This may also include being able to look at what the hi-fi store offers when it comes to second-hand speakers in very good operating condition which could be trade-ins or a pair or two that they are tasked with selling on consignment.

Functionality

Naim Uniti network CD receiver

Naim Uniti network CD receiver with Naim’s distinct CD-loading tray – now has been improved to the Uniti 2

These systems offer a CD player, FM/DAB+ radio, USB file-based audio playback along with network-based AV sources like Internet radio or DLNA audio playback in that one box. Newer generations even come with Bluetooth A2DP audio play from mobile devices along with access to various online audio sources other than an Internet-radio directory, like Spotify, Deezer or Pandora.

The limitations that may be exposed by these systems may include fewer connections for other audio devices. This may manifest in the absence of a phono stage where you can connect most turntables equipped with a magnetic cartridge or the absence of a “tape-loop” where you can connect a recording device like a cassette or MiniDisc deck and be able to record from or play to the CD receiver. As well, you may only find up to two line-level inputs on these systems. The reasoning behind this is that the network-capable CD receiver offers most functions in that one box.

Build quality and longevity

Sony MAP-S1 CD receiver courtesy of Sony

Sony’s new entry to the CD-receiver scene

I draw attention to these systems due to them being built to last which is important if you do either expect to use it frequently or see it staying around for a long time. It also underscores amongst users that they want to frequently play a well-built system that is less likely to break down with the regular use.

Newer systems will even implement user-updatable firmware to allow the system to support new online music services or newer networking standards and audio file types.

In some ways, the longevity that these CD receivers offer would justify the price tag especially in this economic climate where the idea is to look for value and durability so you don’t end up spending too much over the long term.

Relevance

Smaller residence

Arcam Solo Neo CD receiver

Arcam Solo Neo CD receiver

The network-capable CD receiver is intended to satisfy a trend for smaller living spaces which is likely to become the norm for two main user classes. One user class would be a tertiary student who is living in student accommodation i.e. a student hostel, college dorm or residence hall. This would also extend to people living in accommodation associated with their job where the accommodation space is a small apartment or a room of a similar size to a hotel room. This also includes people who share a house and find that their private space is simply a bedroom.

Another user class would be a retired person or couple, or a couple whose children have flown the “family nest”. Here, these people would opt for smaller premises such as a decent-standard inner-urban apartment located close to city activities like the good theatres, or they could be living in retirement or assisted-living accommodation which would typically yield a small bedroom or a small apartment.

Both situations may not easily accommodate a stack of regular-width hi-fi components due to the small size of the living quarters or having such equipment may overwhelm these spaces.

Secondary music system

Even a larger house where you can have a “stack” of hi-fi components as your main A/V or audio system may yield a space where a secondary audio system may be desired. Examples of this may be a secondary lounge area like a large landing or foyer; a dining room or simply a master bedroom. To the same extent, these systems would earn their keep in a small office or shop, providing high-quality music for the patrons.

All these situations could easily be passed off as being suitable for a cheaper music system which is something you would do on a budget. But for those of us who want high-quality sound without an underpowered amplifier straining because too much is asked of it or are used to a good hi-fi system serving your music needs, these network-capable CD receivers could simply answer these needs.

This can also extend to a high-quality three-piece music system that you may want to set up in your shop or office to reflect the tone of your business. The network ability could then allow you to benefit from music held on a small NAS or online-hosted music services like the “new shortwave” that is Internet radio.

Changing needs

It is more so if you have changing needs and can easily purpose these systems either as a primary music system or a secondary music system as required. An example of this could be to purchase one of these units as a secondary system for the “den” in the large house, then take it with you to the small apartment as the hub of a decent music system.

Conclusion

I do give space on this Website to the premium network-capable CD receivers due to them being able to be the heart of a well-built good-quality music system that caters to the downsizing trend that is affecting how we live nowadays without losing on the good-quality sound that a lot of us are used to.

HDHomeRun DUAL broadcast-LAN box to be refreshed for DLNA

Article – From the horse’s mouth

SiliconDust (HDHomeRun)

HDHomeRun DUAL | Welcome to SiliconDust (Product Page)

My Comments

After SiliconDust have enabled the HDHomeRun Prime 3-tuner and 6-tuner cable-TV broadcast-LAN tuners with DLNA digital-media-server functionality for both standard and premium content, they have taken steps to bring this concept out to more of their range broadcast-LAN boxes.

Here, they are in the throes of issuing the HDHomeRun Dual broadcast-LAN box which has two tuners and is capable of picking over-the-air and unencrypted basic cable TV content and serving it over a home network. This is not just to their software or software that runs particular programming interfaces but to network video equipment that supports DLNA like the PS3 or an increasing number of Blu-Ray players and Smart TVs.

At the moment, as the retransmission fights take place between TV networks and cable companies about how much the cable operators pay the TV networks to package their content, we are starting to see the need for a regular TV antenna in most US homes to pick up the full complement of local TV content. This is even though it would have been available via the cable TV services. Similarly, the trend towards cord-cutting has brought American households back to traditional over-the-air TV alongside Netfilx and Hulu.

This device is intending to either complement the HDHomeRun Prime to bring in the over-the-air content  (including local channels lost to cable in-fighting) to the computers, smartphones, tablets and DLNA devices using the home network. Similarly, it would be an economy solution that could please the most persistent cord-cutter who occasionally dabbles in over-the-air for news and sport.

But what I see of this device is that it could be the start of action to port the DLNA capability to DVB-based HDHomeRun broadcast-LAN boxes that will end up in most of the rest of the world.

There will also have to be a time where SiliconDust and others who make DLNA-capable broadcast-LAN devices will need to factor in installations where multiple devices of this type are serving the same network at any time in the network’s life. This may be to increase concurrent viewing/recording capacity or to add coverage for particular broadcast bands and modes to an existing setup. Here, it may require the ability to have one logical tuner device representing multiple physical devices when it comes to broadcast-LAN content sources.

Heads up: The HDHomeRun Prime DLNA-capable broadcast-LAN adaptor is running for US$100

Article

Get an HDHomeRun Prime CableCard tuner for $99.99 | CNet

From the horse’s mouth

Woot

Offer Page

Previous Coverage

HDHomeRun Prime is the first CableCARD tuner to deliver live TV to DLNA Devices

My Comments

Those of you who follow HomeNetworking01.info from the USA may have seen me make mention about the HDHomeRun Prime broadcast-LAN adaptor which streams cable-TV content from its tuners over a small network.

The reason I have drawn attention to this unit on HomeNetworking01.info and am highlighting this deal is that it works as a DLNA-capable network media server. Here, it could stream the cable-TV (or antenna-supplied) content to your XBox 360, PS3, smart TV or other DLNA / UPnP-AV compliant video device so you can use this device to watch the cable-TV shows on.

It has support for the cableCARD authorisation module which you rent from your cable-TV provider i.e. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, etc for less than the cost of the set-top box that they provide, but you have access to HBO, Showtime and the other premium channels as your subscription allows through the DLNA-capable devices as well as your smartphones, tablets and laptop computers.

The variant of this device being offered at the US$100 price is the 3-tuner variant which would serve content to up to three devices and could either work as a “get-you-going” device or augment an existing broadcast-LAN device.

Australian Audio & AV Show 2013

IMG_1174This past weekend I had visited the Australian Audio & AV Show which was hosted at the Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto hotel in Collins Street, Melbourne. This is one of the hotel-based hi-fi shows where, in addition to most if not all the banquet rooms at the hotel being used, at least two, if not three floors of guest-rooms are block-booked with the beds removed out of most, if not all of the rooms. Here, these rooms serve as demonstration rooms with the aesthetics and sound qualities comparable to most living rooms, music rooms or home theatres.

This show underscored particular audio and AV trends, especially the use of network-based digital audio setups. This is more so as the file-based “download-to-own” audio services and the subscription-driven “cyber jukeboxes” like Spotify mature and gain real traction. Of course, it wasn’t feasible to demonstrate the online services from the equipment involved due to the common situation where public-access wireless networks such as what exists at this hotel implement that browser-based authentication routine which doesn’t work with consumer electronics.

One concept that was underscored through this show is that all the good quality recording and playback equipment in the world can show up the poor recording or remastering techniques that can occur in the studio. It doesn’t matter whether the recording had been worked up to a 24 bit 192 kbz master file or turned out as a “new-cut” vinyl record or digital-remaster CD.

Preservation of Media and Technology Comfort Zones

Linn Sondek LP12

Linn Sondek LP12 – the 40-year-old turntable keeps on as a legend

There was an effort to preserve media and technology comfort zones with a few demonstration systems playing from vinyl or regular CDs and some of the systems in “full flight” were based on valve (tube) amplification. An example of this was McIntosh, an American hi-fi legend, showing one of their valve power amplifiers while some other companies even ran with amplifiers that implemented valve/solid-state hybrid construction.

One company even played a “new-cut” vinyl pressing of “Blood Sweat And Tears” which sounded so clear on their demonstration equipment. As well, the distributer for Harman and JBL had a setup which was based on a regular CD player playing through JBL floor-standing speakers and I had played Genesis’s “Many Too Many” off my CD copy of “And Then There Were Three” through this setup.

Yamaha and a few others even ran demonstration systems where a turntable, CD player and network audio player were connected to the system’s amplifier to show that these sources had an equal chance of yielding high-quality sound when fed good recordings no matter the medium. Similarly, Linn demonstrated their legendary Sondek LP12 turntable which was celebrating the 40th anniversary of this classic’s design and presented a record which was a compilation of choice cuts from their record library while they put the way forward with file-based digital audio with their DSM network media players.

Wirelessly-networked audio setups

I had watched a presentation by Cambridge Audio about the direction for wirelessly-networked audio setups and they mentioned that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi were on a level footing.

Arcam rBlink Bluetooth DAC adaptor

Arcam rBlink does a very good job of linking your Bluetooth phone to your stereo

There has been a message that, even though vinyl has been making its steady return, convenience-based AV technologies aren’t undermining the sound quality. This is similar to how I saw the cassette format “earn its stripes” and become respected through the late 70s and the early 80s, what with Dolby noise reduction, better tape formulations like chrome dioxide, Dolby HX recording-improvement technology along with those high-grade musicassettes issued through the mid 80s.

Pure Jongo T6 wireless speaker

Pure Jongo T6 wireless speaker playing from my phone

Here, the aptX codec was introduced in to Bluetooth A2DP setups to provide high-grade audio quality when you use Bluetooth headsets or speakers as I had noticed when I played “You And I” by Delegation from my Samsung Galaxy Note II through a pair of Aktimate Blue Bluetooth speakers and they yielded that punchy bass and clear treble.

The DLNA / UPnP AV technology had been highlighted by Cambridge Audio as enabling high-quality open-frame audio distribution over Wi-Fi and Ethernet home networks. This technology allowed equipment that was able to play 24-bit audio content to discover and play this content off a NAS or similar media server.

USB speakers with a laptop

USB-driven hi-fi speakers rais the bar for laptop sound and bring through audiophile quality

The idea of one-source multiple-speaker wireless audio setups is not perfect due to the use of packet-based technologies implemented with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. This typically requires the implementation of a “master device” which keeps all the devices in sync when it comes to what they are playing and Pure implemented this with one of their Jongo devices being considered a “master devices”. This network was simply served by an ordinary wireless router that served as an access point and DHCP server to cover that room where the speakers were shown. Their solution allowed for “party-streaming” from multiple speakers and  a pair of the same-model speakers to operate as a stereo pair for wider separation.  Dynaudio demonstrated a wireless speaker setup that worked on their own wireless-distribution technology which was primarily circuit-based rather than packet-based.

Stronger foothold for file-based audio distribution

This leads me to the fact that there is a stronger foothold in file-based audio distribution in the hi-fi space. In this show, a lot of companies were demonstrating music that was played either through a room-wide DLNA Home Media Network or a laptop that was connected to a USB digital-analogue converter.

The USB digital-analogue converters that were used in this show typically presented themselves to Macintosh OS X or Windows as another “sound card” according to USB Audio specifications. Some of these devices were components that were connected to existing amplifiers or were part of a control amplifier, integrated amplifier or powered speakers.

Netgear ReadyNAS

A NAS like this ReadyNAS or the ripping NAS nearby is as much a hi-fi component

On the other hand, the more popular method for file-based audio distribution was the UPnP AV / DLNA Home Media Network. A significant number of the rooms were running these networks that comprised of a NAS full of music and one or more components or systems capable of audio playback from a network, typically a Wi-Fi wireless network. A typical router served as the “glue” to hold each room’s network together.

With these setups, it was feasible to run content presented as 24-bit FLAC or similar files or regular PCM-format WAV files to allow the hi-fi equipment to perform at its best. Some of these networks used a heterogenous mix of devices with only the exhibitor’s brand being highly positioned.

Cocktail X30 music server

Cocktail X30 full-width music server and receiver

Cocktail X10 music server

Cocktail X10 music server which is a stereo system

I had also seen on show the Cocktail Audio X10 and X30 network media servers which are themselves capable of being the heart of a 3-piece music system or working with another sound system. I had previously covered the X10 on this site but the newly-previewed X30 full-width unit has more inputs, an FM radio tuner, and a highly-powerful amplifier with proper binding-post speaker connections. These units can be DLNA music servers for a home network or be capable of pulling up content on a network-attached storage this way,

Rise of Spotify and similar online services

There is the rise of the online service, especially Spotify which been perceived as the “online jukebox”. It still works on the three tiers with a free ad-based setup, an “unlimited” desktop-only setup as well as a premium setup with desktop and mobile ad-free listening. Some markets have a “mobile free” listening service but it will be rolled out to all of the markets. The mobile services provide content download to the local storage on the mobile device while the desktop service is primarily about streaming the content.

Naim NDS network audio player

Naim NDS network audio player

The Spotify Connect feature that was just launched is more about “passing” content playback directions to equipment that supports this service via the home network. This has been more about “freeing up” a smartphone or tablet that is the Spotify control surface to be able to be used for communications or game playing.

Denon DNP-F109 network audio player

Denon DNP-F109 network audio player

Similarly, Spotify is working with vehicle builders to provide an integrated experience for drivers. Ford’s AppSync variant is focused on the app in the mobile device doing the heavy lifting and the dashboard working as a remote control surface and AUX input.

High-quality lifestyle audio

A class of audio-playback equipment that tends to be forgotten about in the hi-fi sphere is “lifestyle audio” or “lifestyle-centric audio”, This represents the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi speakers along with the CD receivers or network media receivers that are the hub of a three-piece music system. Traditional hi-fi enthusiasts find that if you don’t have the component-driven setup with individual pieces of equipment in separate boxes doing their job, you are not leading to good sound but the “lifestyle” equipment that was shown here was about equipment that can yield high-quality sound yet be in a compact enclosure that is still aesthetically pleasing.

As I said in my review of the Rotel RCX-1500 CD receiver, I touched on the music centres and casseivers (receivers with integrated cassette deck) of the late 1970s where mid-priced and high-end variants had the expectations of a good component-based hi-fi system in one piece. Then Bang & Olufsen kept the flag going with their Beocenter and Beosound products like the legendary Beocenter 7000 series through the 80s until the likes of Bose and Proton drew back this class of system as a high-quality “lifestyle” product.

Naim UnitiQute 2 on dressing table

The Naim Uniti!Qute 2 – a high-quality network-connected music system for that small room

A system that demonstrated this concept very well was a Naim UnitiQute 2 network media receiver that was connected to a pair of Totem DreamCatcher bookshelf speakers and presented on a dressing table in one of the hotel’s Club Junior Suite rooms. This conveyed to me an image of something that would fit in well in an elegant master bedroom or the kitchen where you show off your gourmet cooking skills.

Cyrus's latest CD receiver

Cyrus’s latest CD receiver

There has been an increased number of full-width slimline CD receivers which have Wi-Fi DLNA home-network connectivity including an advance-sample preview of Cyrus’s first CD receiver. This unit was demonstrated through a pair of floorstanding speakers which show up how flexible these systems were. Here, it could play CDs, receive FM or DAB+ broadcast radio, stream from a Bluetooth smartphone or pull in network or Internet hosted content with an integrated Wi-Fi module. Other examples included Arcam’s Solo Neo and Naim’s Uniti 2.

Arcam Solo Neo CD receiver

Arcam Solo Neo CD receiver

One lifestyle system, the Elipson Planet series, which had speakers shaped like spheres and a centre unit shaped like a cylinder implements the Bang & Olufsen icePower power-amplification technology for its power amplifiers. This system’s industrial design along with the use of B&O icePower technology could be seen as “Clayton’s” B&O music system – a B&O when you don’t have a B&O.

Elipson Planet music system

Elipson Planet music system – the B&O when you don’t have a B&O

These three-piece systems are being considered because of their relevance to the “downsized home”, which is becoming more real with baby-boomer couples moving to smaller homes as their children grow their feathers and fly the nest. Similarly, the look towards the minimalist interior design is underscoring the need for these systems as is the concept of some of these systems offering “primary-system” capability and quality in a package suited to a secondary music system.

At the same time, there has been an increased number of wireless speakers that work with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi wireless networks with Pure launching a good range of the “Jongo” speakers which are able to exploit a Wi-Fi segment as a self-sustaining synchronised multi-speaker network. Cambridge Audio also used this to launch a range of Bluetooth / Wi-Fi speakers that work with Spotify Connect.

Speaker technology

JBL speakers

These classic speaker designs still hang on in the hi-fi conscience

There were some manufacturers and distributors showing the traditional floor-standing speakers with Harman and VAF showing some that would be considered “furniture pieces”. The ones that Harman showed were a pair of JBLs that would be considered par for the course with a 1970s receiver and had the large horns for the tweeters while VAF presented a speaker with wallpaper on the outside and 50s-style spindle legs, calling it “Maximising Spousal Acceptance Factor”.

But many manufacturers were demonstrating small traditional-arrangement bookshelf speakers that could put up a very punchy sound. With these speakers, it could be easy to doubt whether they are working by themselves or whether people who are demonstrating them are using a subwoofer as part of the setup.

Aktimate bookshelf active speakers

Aktimate bookshelf active speakers do punch out the music

As well, there has been an increased number of active speakers which have integrated amplifiers. This class of speaker was being given ore thought in the hi-fi world and not just thought of as computer speakers, lifestyle speakers (B&O, Bose) or as PA speakers. This is even though at the early stages of hi-fi, audiophiles used public-address amplifiers that they tuned to drive their custom-built speakers.

One company used another of the Club Junior Suites to demonstrate a set of floor-standing active speakers which used two power amplifiers per cabinet and line-level crossovers, thus proving that you can have a decent-sounding hi-fi in full flight based around this technology. Another regular-sized hotel room was used to demonstrate the Aktimate speakers which are bookshelf speakers that have an integrated stereo amplifier

I also see this as providing for high-grade right-sized sound-reinforcement setups where you can create an all-active-speaker sound system around JBL EON PA speakers for a large room full of people or an outdoor setting while these hi-fi active speakers could satisfy a smaller room where extra sound quality comes in to play,

To the same extent, Linn improved on what Philips started on in the early 1990s by refining a high-quality digital speaker system fit for the 24-bit studio master recording. This system, known as the Exakt is set around a digital sound path to just before the actual speaker driver with the Exakt speakers implementing a digital crossover and one digital amplifier for each driver. This implements a proprietary “Exakt Link” from the controller which is the Klimax Exakt DSM to these speakers.

Headphones

There was a special section of this show dedicated to headphone technology and you may think that this is to be taken up by exotic audiophile headphones. But these headphones also shared the HeadZone space with headphones that are capable of delivering high-quality sound from your smartphone, tablet or laptop while you are on the train for a reasonable price.  This increased show space underscored the reality that the role of “cans” as part of our AV equipment is increasingly important with out portable entertainment gadgets rather than just as accessories.

As well Denon and Sennheiser used space in their banquet rooms to show off their headphones that suited most user needs. Oh yeah, I had compared a pair of the higher-grade UrbanRaver AH-D400s against the Urban Raver AH-D320 “cans” that I had reviewed and the ‘D400s had the stronger punch in the sound. Yet I still consider the D320s as the value option that still does justice to rock and pop.

Conclusion

Here, the Australian Audio And AV Show 2013 had exemplified that the digital audio that is hosted via a home network or the Internet is the way forward. This includes using a smartphone or tablet with a Bluetooth link to play music either to a wireless speaker or to a high-quality Bluetooth adaptor plugged in to your favourite hi-fi system’s digital or line input.

In some ways, you could even create a music system around top-notch equipment and speakers that is ready to play vinyl, CD and/or network-hosted media.

Feature Article–DLNA Media Network Series: Getting Started With DLNA Media Sharing

Updated: 13 October 2013

Pure Sensia 200D Connect Internet radioMost of us will end up with a large collection of picture, music or video files on our computers, especially if we use our computers as a large media library. It would be nice to have access to this content without having to copy it out to thumbdrives, SD cards or iPods before we can enjoy it.

As for music, this is more so as we buy music as digital-download files rather than buy physical media and copy it to our conputer’s hard disk. It will also become a trend if we visit video sites that offer video content on a download-to-own basis.

The instructions in this article are more focused with a person who is pressing a regular desktop or laptop computer running Windows, MacOS X or Linux as a media server and may be the way to go when you start out with DLNA especially if you are using a desktop comptuer.

Why share your music, pictures and video the DLNA way?

Sony BDP-S390 Blu-Ray Disc Player

Sony BDP-S390 Network Blu-Ray Player – a Blu-Ray player that adds DLNA to an existing TV

An increasing number of dedicated network media client devices are on the market and nearly all of these devices work according to the UPnP AV / DLNA media-client standards.  Most manufacturers who are selling premium table radios are supplying at least one which can pick up Internet radio broadcasts through a home network and these sets are also capable of picking up media made available to them from a UPnP AV media server. We are also seeing an increasing number of wireless speakers that connect to your home network and receive music via Apple’s proprietary Airplay system or the common DLNA system. These units can be controlled by mobile devices equipped with controller apps.

Similarly, DLNA is becoming an important feature for any well-bred “smart TV” or similar video peripheral like a Blu-Ray player or home-theatre system that is connected to the Internet. The ubiquitous Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 games consoles that every teenage boy dreams of having both work according to these standards and this feature is becoming a requirement for up-and-coming TV-connected games consoles.

By using a DLNA-based setup, you don’t need to install different media-server programs for each network-media client that you happen to buy. In some situations, you may only need to run whatever is supplied with the computer’s operating system.

Setting up your network for DLNA media

Basic DLNA Media Network

Basic DLNA Media Network

Most home, small-business and some branch-office networks don’t require any revision because they typically are one logical network that spans the premises with the router that exists at the network-Internet “edge” being the device that handles basic network housekeeping. This doesn’t matter whether the network has one or more media segments like WiFi wireless, Cat5 Ethernet or HomePlug powerline cabling.

You will need to know the ESSID and the WEP or WPA security key for your wireless network. This may be obtained through the router’s Web administration page or through your client PC’s wireless-network-setup parameters such as in Windows Connect Now. If you are connecting your DLNA media client to the network via wireless, you will need to make sure that the wireless access point or router is broadcasting the ESSID so you can pick it from a list using the device’s user interface and be sure you are “in reach” of the network. This practice would be important when you run a multi-access-point wireless network or simply to help with making sure that neighbouring wireless networks are set up properly. As well, you will need to be ready to enter the WEP or WPA security passphrase by “picking out” characters from a list using buttons on the device or its remote control.

Some networks such as the public-access networks provided by cafes and the like, including the headline “Wi-Fi Internet” that resort apartment developments provide won’t work well with DLNA. This is due to implementation of a Web-based login system as well as client isolation which doesn’t work with most DLNA-capable devices.

Setting up your PC jukebox or media server software for DLNA

Settings for ripping CDs in Windows Media Player

Settings for ripping CDs in Windows Media Player

If you are running any Microsoft Windows version since Windows XP, you can use Windows Media Player 11 or newer versions as your media server. Before you start “ripping” CDs to the hard disk, make sure the program is set to rip without DRM (Copy Protect Music checkbox in the Rip Music options tab is cleared) and that it is set to rip CDs at 192kbps WMA or 320kbps MP3. The reason I would rip at these settings is to be assured of sound reproduction that is as close to the CD album as possible. You may use the MP3 codec for maximum compatibility or WMA for efficient storage if your DLNA media clients can handle WMA.

As well, you will have to set Windows Media Player 11 to automatically permit devices to benefit from its media library. This is done by going to “Library”, then selecting “Media Sharing” and clicking on “Settings”. The “Media Sharing – Default Settings” dialog box will open whereupon you make sure that the “Allow new devices and computers automatically” checkbox is selected.

If you don’t use any sort of ratings in your media as far as sharing is concerned, you may have to select “All ratings” in both the “Star Ratings” and “Parental Ratings” options. This will make sure all media is available for all of the devices.

Windows Media Player Sharing settings for DLNA

Windows Media Player Sharing settings for DLNA

For your pictures and videos, you will have to add the folder that contains your photos to Windows Media Player’s media library. Similarly, you will have to do this for your video folders.

Linux users have access to a large plethora of media-server software such as TwonkyMedia and TVersity as well as a large collection of open-source media-server software. You will still have to use a CD jukebox program set up to rip CDs at 320kbps MP3.

Apple and Windows users who use iTunes as their CD jukebox but will need to use either TwonkyMedia, PS3 Media Server or NullRiver MediaLink. They will need to make sure that the iTunes directory is the one to be provided by the media server. Again, iTunes will need to be set up to rip at 320kbps MP3 for best compatibility and quality. The program may support transcoding to lower bandwidth settings for use whenever music is being transferred out to an iPod.

Infact, I have written up some more detailed information about setting up an Apple Macintosh computer to work as part of a DLNA-based home media network because of the increasing popularity of these computers. The article, “UPnP AV (DLNA) for the Apple Macintosh platform”, covers other media server programs that exist for that platform.

The media server would need to be set up to work with the folders that are being used as the primary folders for music, photo and video storage.  I have explained how to go about this for your music, especially if you use iTunes or Windows Media Player. For your photos and videos, you simply add the folders used by your photo management and video management software to store your images.

As well, if you, a friend or associate uses SkyDrive, Dropbox or similar cloud-based storage services to share a media collection, you may need to copy the media that you received through the sharing to your media library to share them via DLNA. Similarly, images shared through the Social Web may need to be downloaded from the service to your media folder.

The DLNA media-server programs typically index music files according to artist, album, track, genre, and some may support separate identification of composers, contributing artists (important for soundtracks and compilation albums) and other metadata for pictures and videos. Some, like TwonkyMedia, allow for alphabetical clustering and other efficient sorting arrangements. This is typically because UPnP AV / DLNA allows for the server to determine how it presents the library to the client devices.

As far as playlists are concerned, they will typically be listed in a “Playlists” collection with each playlist being its own collection in that tree. By having a playlist as a collection of tracks rather than a reference to a playlist file, it means that the media clients don’t have to be compatible with the playlist file format that the jukebox program works with.

Some of the media servers like Windows Media Player 11 or TwonkyMedia support transcoding to common file formats for situations where a DLNA media client cannot handle a particular media type. This can come in handy for file types like WMA or high-definition audio files which aren’t handled by all UPnP AV media players.

Setting up the DLNA clients

Enrolling the DLNA clients in to your network

You will need to make your DLNA media client become part of the network. This can be a simple task of plugging it in to your Ethernet network segment or into your HomePlug powerline network segment using a HomePlug-Ethernet bridge.

Integrating wireless-enabled DLNA clients to the wireless network

If you are connecting your wireless-enabled DLNA media client to the WiFi network, you will need to configure it for this network. This will require you to enter the device’s setup menu and select the option pertaining to wireless network setup. Then you get the device to search for your network’s ESSID which is commonly referred to as the SSID, Network Name or something similar. Once your device has detected your wireless network, you will be prompted to enter the WEP or WPA security passphrase. At this point, enter the passphrase in to the device. These procedures will have to be done as mentioned in the “Setting up your network for DLNA media” section.

Nearly all of the recent DLNA network media clients may use a “quick set-up” method like Windows Connect Now or WPS. This will typically involve either transferring a USB memory key between a Windows XP or Vista wireless-equipped notebook computer and the device; or registering the device with the wireless router. This procedure may be as simple as pressing a “register” or WPS button on the router and the device or copying the device’s PIN number (which would be on the device itself or in a WPS setup option in the device’s setup menu) in to the wireless router’s setup menu.

If you use MAC-address filtering on your wireless router, you will need to register the DLNA media device as an “accepted” network device. This will require you to copy the device’s wireless MAC address, which will be on a sticker attached to the device itself, in to the router’s trusted MAC-address list.

Making sure the DLNA clients detect the media server

DLNA media directory provided by server PC

DLNA media directory shown on TV screen as provided by PC

You will need to make sure that the media server program is running on the PC that has the media that you are sharing. Most such programs may run a media server component as a background task while the computer is fully on but some may require the jukebox program to be running all the time. Similarly, you may bave to stop your computer going to sleep or hibernate mode under automatic control for this to work properly.

Another thing to check is the desktop firewall software. This should be set to allow the media server software outbound and inbound access to the network as a server. The Windows Firewall software that is part of all Microsoft desktop operating systems since Windows XP Service Pack 2 makes this easy by allowing immediate access to Windows Media Player or asking you if you want to allow the application to have network access. Other third-party firewalls may require the server application to be allowed Internet access by you adding the software to their application “white lists”.

DLNA collections listed as sources on the TV

DLNA content collections listed as sources on a Samsung Smart TV

You may have to select “Network Music”, “PC Music” or something similar on most network-enabled music devices like Internet radios in order to gain access to the music library that you have made available.  Then you select the “hostname” of the PC, which may be commensurate to its standard computer name or its primary owner’s name. The DLNA client will then show the media type that it can work with. You then select that type and use the controls to select the media you are interested in.  Some devices like the recent crop of Samsung Smart TVs list each DLNA server on the home network they are connected to either as a source alongside the integrated TV tuner or external connections on that device.

Summary

Once you have your network and media-server computer set up properly, you can work with providing music and other media to network media receiver devices without much hassle.

High-resolution file-based audio–a few gaps need to be filled here

Linn Klimax DS network media preamplifier

Linn Klimax DS network media preamplifier

As I saw in the Australian Audio & AV Show 2011, there has been interest in the idea of high-resolution file-based audio as a way of conveying music that is fit to play on the latest high-end amplifiers and speakers. Equipment like the Naim NDX or Linn DS series of network media players where playing 192khz 24-bit FLAC files was second nature were being exhibited there.

Lately, Sony used the Internationaler Funkaustellung 2013 trade show in Berlin to premiere a series of hard-disk media players and music systems which are about reproducing these digital-audio files, alongside digital-analogue converters and Walkman portable media players that work with the high-resolution audio files.

Some of the recordings available in this form are either copies of the high-grade studio masters associated with new recordings or remastering efforts of classic recordings like Miles Davis’s “Kind Of Blue” or Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon” where the reference recording was the classic open-reel mono or stereo tape or PCM-701ES / PCM-1630 videotape (a digital recording made using a PCM adaptor and videocassette recorder) that the recording studio turned out as a master. It is an attempt to raise the standard of high-grade audio recording and reproduction above what was acceptable in the late 70s and early 80s.

Typically these files are delivered as WAV waveform files or losslessly-compressed files to the FLAC or ALAC standards. In some cases, efficient lossy formats like WMA or AAC may be used for this kind of recording. The specifications for most of these “master-grade” recordings are stereo or, in a few cases, multichannel 24-bit files with 88.2, 96 or 192 khz sampling frequency.

Downsampling and conversion for less-capable equipment

Some of the setups that I saw were based on a DLNA-based home network but the problem with most of the media servers out there is that they could only work reliably with equipment that provided inherent support for the FLAC, ALAC or similar files at the high sampling frequencies. This would typically be relegated to the high-grade equipment that would serve the main lounge area and is part and parcel of the functionality offered by most network-capable home stereo systems but there is the reality that you may use cheaper equipment for casual listening such as in the kitchen, bedroom or den.

One main feature that I would like to see would be to have DLNA media servers which are supplied with network-attached-storage units support downsampling to “CD-grade” quality for the cheaper equipment such as most of the network speakers. This could be to make available a stream that is a 16-bit 44.1khz or 48khz PCM or MP3 format for this equipment. These streams are exposed and discovered according to UPnP AV standards in order to provide best-case listening according to the equipment’s capabilities.

It is something that is part of the TwonkyMedia Server software but not all NAS devices implement the software or carry through this functionality even though were as seeing a lot of these devices have the processing power of an 2009-era netbook.

As well, if these servers offer DLNA-assisted “syncing” of music files to automotive or portable devices, they could perform the downsampling to this grade during the file transfer process if the user so wishes.  This is more so as these devices become part of the home network when it comes to handling digital content.

WAV and similar PCM-grade files to carry metadata

As for the PCM-grade WAV file which is a common carrier for linear PCM audio, this doesn’t support any metadata in its current form. Of course, this format is highly cherished by people who value high-quality sound reproduction but you work around this either with a file-folder structure that represents your content or a sidecar file which carries the full metadata.

This could be helped through the implementation of the ID3v2 in-file-metadata standard for WAV and similar PCM files. Here, you avoid the need to kludge with folder structures and don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to recording and replaying WAV files.

Timecode and synchronisation issues for prosumer video

The high-resolution audio file formats will be of interest to serious video hobbyists and people who make money from film or video projects. Here, recording equipment that exploits these formats will need to work with standard SMPTE time-code data in the files along with exchanging the timecode through a small network including a Wi-Fi Direct segment.

This is important as we see the “prosumer” photography and video equipment that is valued by the hobbyists, the small-time wedding / corporate videographers and community TV groups become increasingly equipped with WI-Fi networking abilities. Additionally some of the video projects encountered by these people like weddings are anchored around musically-rich content such as live music performances, religious services or reception dances and the high-resolution audio files could do justice to this music.

This has to be easy to implement for the serious video hobbyist or small-time operator who is starting to get to grips with the concept. For example, an audio-recording device connected to a mixing desk to record a presentation or wedding could serve as a time-code master while two or more cameras with on-camera audio are used to capture video but referring to that time-code signal as their time-code.

Conclusion

As we see serious hi-fi buffs, people involved with the recording and reproduction of music and video content, along with musicians and music historians become aware of these high-grade file formats for sound data, the issue of backwards compatibility and searchability of content on the network domain will become real as these formats evolve.

Another network audio player with hi-fi credentials this time from Cambridge Audio

Article

Cambridge Audio’s Minx Xi music streamer packs built-in amp and 24-bit DAC (video)

Link to video

From the horse’s mouth

Cambridge Audio

Product Page

My Comments

Another product appears that bridges the home network with high-quality sound, this time in the form a network media receiver that can connect to a set of high-quality speakers.

Cambridge Audio have released the Minx Xi which is a network media receiver that has an integrated 40-watt amplifier that can drive most good-quality bookshelf speakers. This is similar to equipment like the Denon CEOL Piccolo music system that I previously reviewed or the Linn DS network media players.

This unit has been engineered for high-quality digital sound reproduction and can serve as a digital amplifier for most digital-audio sources. Like most of these devices, the Minx Xi can pick up the “new shortwave” that is the Internet radio as well as access to BBC iPlayer or Pandora.

You can play the file-based digital music content from your UPnP AV/DLNA network-attached storage device and have the best-case sound coming from the content. This includes the content that is prepared for high-quality sound reproduction such as 192khz/24-bit master files or files delivered using FLAC or AAC. This content can also be held on a USB hard disk or memory key; or you could stream content from any Bluetooth-capable smartphone or portable device.

You could set this system up to work with a pair of bookshelf or freestanding speakers and choose to augment the bass for those speakers that are “thin” in that regard using an active subwoofer.

Like most of this equipment, this unit supports control from smartphones or tablets using a manufacturer-supplied app which can lead to quicker access to desired content. Of course, you can control the Minx Xi from its front panel or remote control, which comes in handy if you quickly want to skip tracks, pause the music to take a phone call or “wind the wick up” for your favourite song.

It represents a trend to provide network-capable audio equipment that can be the heart of a high-quality three-piece music system suitable for those small apartments that are part of the downsizing culture.