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GRAHAMUK · Apr 29, 2003, 11:04 PM

In the wake of yesterday's new iPods and iTunes, I think the next thing that Apple need to produce is this: A home hifi device which has an ethernet and/or 802.11 wireless networking port, a decent power amplifier, and an iPod-like interface. A Mac running iTunes 4.x acts as as a server, and this device provides the sound output to speakers. Its interface provides access to the iTunes database, so you can play any song you like. It would be cheap enough so that you could have one in every room you wanted music. Each outstation could stream something different, or a 'broadcast mode' could be used for parties, etc. All the technology is here right now, Apple just have to make it. I'd buy it today if it existed! Any thoughts?

tr · 09:33 AM

Originally posted by GRAHAMUK:
It would be cheap enough so that you could have one in every room you wanted music.

dude, something like that would NEVER be cheap enough!

and even if it was, i wouldn't buy it. i have no need to have music in different rooms. i live in an apartment. if i want to hear music, i turn up the volume.

now...if you added streaming video to the equation, well, then, i might reconsider...

tr

GRAHAMUK · Apr 30, 2003, 05:29 AM

Originally posted by tr:
dude, something like that would NEVER be cheap enough!

and even if it was, i wouldn't buy it. i have no need to have music in different rooms. i live in an apartment. if i wasnt to hear music, i turn up the volume.

now...if you added streaming video to the equation, well, then, i might reconsider...

tr

So, everyone lives in an apartment right? Even if they did, is turning it up so you can hear it right through really all that socially responsible? How much better to have the music a lot quieter, but pervasive throughout the building! And if (like a lot, especially out here in Australia) you have a) a large spread out house and b) a lot of separate stereo systems to provide music everywhere, and c) the occasional party, it would be ideal. Since the outstation doesn't require a hard disk, it could be very cheap indeed.

Dubloseven · May 1, 2003, 01:01 AM

that would be really cool. even if i lived in an apartment, i think that this would be useful. i cant imagine that it would cost toooo much. it would have a wireless card, a pretty case, and some electronics. it would be a big seller

Nathan Adams · May 1, 2003, 05:34 AM

Wasn't Philips planning on releasing some stereos with Rendevous sharing support?

GRAHAMUK · May 1, 2003, 08:19 PM

Originally posted by Nathan Adams:
Wasn't Philips planning on releasing some stereos with Rendevous sharing support?

I think I heard that too.

But it needs to be more than a stereo - it needs to be able to interface to the database (iTunes, say) and to navigate it like the iPod does. An interface to the Music Store would be cool, too!

S S · May 7, 2003, 08:51 PM

I want something like this so bad. I was thinking about it when the new iPods with a dock and line out were released. I was thinking it be great to have a second dock to hook up to my big stereo. The only downfall would be having to get up to change tracks or playlists. Then I wished the iPod had a wireless remote. My Sony DVD player plays MP3 CD's it shows all the text on the TV and is controlled buy a remote.

All the Apple device needs to have is a rendezvous reicever, a simple interface, and line out for audio and video to display the interface on a TV. The interface could just be a blown up iPod interface that you can read from across the room, nothing fancy. The remote would look like a mini iPod with same controls but no screen. The set top box would be about the size of an AirPort base station. It would contain very similar parts to an AP BS so I don't see why it would be any more then $150.

Wow, why not just make the AP BS do the whole thing. So many people have cable internet it makes sense to just put the AP BS next to the TV and be able to stream music to it. Then this device wouldn't just be for streaming music. It would also serve your computer network. Then why stop at music. It could link to iPhoto and stream slide shows to the TV. Maybe even stream movies in your movie folder.

So this one device would act as your AirPort base station and a music streamer. It would esentialy be an AP BS with a remote control and A/V out with a simple video interface. I think it would drive people to start using Airport even when they have an internet connection right next to their computer. I'd buy one in a second.

Wait, one more brain fart. The new iPod connector might hold some possibilities. If is sends and audio signal to the dock for the line out why not make the iPod output the video it displays on the iPod screen to the dock. A Super iPod dock would output the A/V to the TV and stereo. It would also have an IR window and a remote to control the iPod. This solution wouldn't need a wireless connection. It would just mean putting your iPod in the Super dock. When the first iPod came out I wanted a way to put it in my car stereo like a little 8 track tape with thousands of songs on it. I've seen some car hard disk players and I thought it was really dumb to have to sit in your car and rip all the songs. Why not just dock a hard drive (or iPod) into the stereo.

Okay. I've rambled enough. No one will ever read all that.

GRAHAMUK · May 8, 2003, 11:58 PM

I found a device that is ALMOST what I had in mind:

SliMP3

It's so close I'm tempted to buy it - the price is definitely in the ballpark (229 USD). Where it falls short from my point of view is:

1. Doesn't integrate with iTunes, so will not scale to new Apple technologies such as the music store.

2. The fluorescent display is ugly and restrictive (whatever their marketing blurb claims). A bit-mapped LCD would be better, so much more flexible. It would need to be large enough to be readable at a few metres, and brightly backlit. If they made it colour, it could double as a a digital picture frame and viewer for the album art!

3. The overall appearance of the unit is a bit clunky - Apple's version would be a work of art (natch)

4. It only decodes MP3, apparently in hardware, so cannot be upgraded to other formats, such as AAC. It would lower the price and add future-proofness if it ran a cheap but fast general-purpose CPU, such as an embedded G3 instead of dedicated hardware.

5. Does not integrate the power amplifier - this might be a plus point for some, but I see this as a neat one-box solution to the problem. 20Wrms per channel should be adequate, with a line out for purists.

6. It doesn't use Rendezvous, which seems to me made for this. While it claims very easy and quick set-up, why have any? It should "just work".

Despite these points, it's definitely a step in the right direction - so much so it may be enpugh to kick off a whole new home audio market - one which I feel Apple could very well enter and do very well, since technology wise it's right up their street, and they do have a knack for gorgeous design.

Mithras · May 11, 2003, 03:34 PM

If you ask me, this is the ideal device.

i.e., a used iBook from eBay. Costs $200 - $500, has a terrific interface (iTunes 4), large color screen, built-in battery for moving it around, Airport wireless + ethernet connectivity, and sits very prettily atop your stereo.

simifilm · May 12, 2003, 01:34 PM

If I see this correctly this device would be rather simple to build and didn't need to be expensive at all. What is it in the end? An iPod minus the harddisk plus more connectivity. It doesn't even need to be small since it has to match to size of normal hifi hardware.

GRAHAMUK · May 14, 2003, 08:12 PM

Originally posted by simifilm:
If I see this correctly this device would be rather simple to build and didn't need to be expensive at all. What is it in the end? An iPod minus the harddisk plus more connectivity. It doesn't even need to be small since it has to match to size of normal hifi hardware.

The "normal size" of hi-fi hardware is a funny one really - I mean, WHY is it that size? Mostly because in the 70s when home hi-fi became a commodity things like amplifiers and cassette decks needed that amount of space for their hardware, tuners had mechanical dials that needed a big front panel, the user interface was knobs and dials, no remote control, etc.

Now's the time to rethink it. As I see it, a small (say 10 x 6 x 0.5 inch) flat wallmounted screen is all that's needed, maybe a bit thicker if it contains a power amplifier (the biggest problem with that is the power supply). The user interface is wholly graphical. Speakers themselves are constrained by the laws of physics, but the rest of the system can effectively disappear to become a control panel that is built in to the fabric of the house, or a free standing "picture frame" type of thing - whatever, it doesn't need to fit in with "standard" (read: old-fashioned) hifi systems. But yes, I agree it could be built pretty cheaply and doesn't require any technology that isn't mainstream already.

simifilm · May 15, 2003, 02:16 AM

Originally posted by GRAHAMUK:
The "normal size" of hi-fi hardware is a funny one really - I mean, WHY is it that size? Mostly because in the 70s when home hi-fi became a commodity things like amplifiers and cassette decks needed that amount of space for their hardware, tuners had mechanical dials that needed a big front panel, the user interface was knobs and dials, no remote control, etc.

Now's the time to rethink it. As I see it, a small (say 10 x 6 x 0.5 inch) flat wallmounted screen is all that's needed, maybe a bit thicker if it contains a power amplifier (the biggest problem with that is the power supply). The user interface is wholly graphical. Speakers themselves are constrained by the laws of physics, but the rest of the system can effectively disappear to become a control panel that is built in to the fabric of the house, or a free standing "picture frame" type of thing - whatever, it doesn't need to fit in with "standard" (read: old-fashioned) hifi systems. But yes, I agree it could be built pretty cheaply and doesn't require any technology that isn't mainstream already.

Actually, I'm quite sure that if Apple ever builds such a thing it will not have normal hifi hardware size. But personally, I would prefer a device which matches my existing hifi hardware...