carraig king
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carraig king said:I will be moving into a new house in the coming months and wish to install a wireless multi-room audio/video system. The main one I have come across is the Philips Streamium model. Has anyone used this product, or can anyone advise me of other suitable products etc.
The [broken link removed] might be a cheaper solution than Sonos, although without the album art. It likewise does not stream video.JohnnieKippe said:Thanks for the info WexfordMan. I live in Dublin now (ex-pat aswell) and rang a few of the dealers from the sonos website today to enquire about prices but not much luck. they all said they dont do it or they'll ring me back with prices. I think I want a 4 zone setup (maybe start with 2) which I guess will set me back around 3K. Its a lot of money , but I've started to justify it to my wife by saying 'well, compared to the price of the new house, its not much, yet it will change a bog standard house into a cool state of the art house'.
Certainly, the LCD remote is very nice.Wexfordman said:The difference as far as I can see with Sonos and Roku etc are, first and foremost, the user interface, which is exceptional. It does to the multiroom systems what Ipod did to mp3 players, and you will see the obvious similarities.
Not sure if the Roku does this, but the Squeezebox does according to this review.Wexfordman said:The second difference, and this is an exclusive as far as I know, is the ability of sonus to synchronise zones, which rokus does not do. That is you can play one track in all zones, and it will be synchronised. This is a very important feature when looking at multiroom systems, as otherwhise all you may as well put in a seperate cd player/tuner in all your rooms.
Wexfordman said:Not sure what you mean by sonos requiring a seperate device to plug into your hifi Bond ? Can you explain ? The only thing Sonos needs with the ZP100 is a set of speakers ? Both systems do require a centralised source (in the case of Sonos, this can be a pc or NAS,), but Sonos, will also, as an additional feature accept a seperate external source and pipe it to any of the other rooms with a zp in it. Think of it this way, if you have a ZP in one room with a sattelite receiver, all you have to do is plug in audio left and right into the external input source of teh ZP100, and then its availalbe anywhere else in your house!!!
Not disagreeing. Just stating that the Roku has a cheaper cost of entry and requires few pieces of equipment.Wexfordman said:Sonus is a modular system, you build it up one room at a time, so not sure what if any comparison there is to Rokus here.
Yes, sonos is more expensive, but looking at the feature list, for obvious reasons.
Again, I am not putting any product down or anything, but as I said, Sonos is the one and only product I have ever come accross where I will honestly say I would defend to the deathThats the most positive statement I can make about it really, and you wont find me ever again saying anything like this about anything else.
The Roku connects over Wi-FI (802.11b unfortunately, not g) to your music share and connects via optical or coaxial connection for optimum sound quality. Does not require an amp.Wexfordman said:Mr Bond (cant spell french me!!)
"Not disagreeing. Just stating that the Roku has a cheaper cost of entry and requires few pieces of equipment."
Yep, the Roku is cheaper, but they are different products pretty much. Does the Roku require an amp by the way, I'm not sure!!!. Also, how does the Roku require fewer pieces of equipment, all sonos needs is a source and a set of speakers when you look at it. I will give you one thing, it would be nice if Sonos was cheaper, but when you compare the two products, or Sonos agains any other multiroom quipment (wired or wireless), you will see why the price difference.
This restriction does not apply to the Roku Soundbridge or the Squeezebox, afaik.Wexfordman said:EFM,
The frist zp has to be pyhsically connected (via ethernet/lan cable) to your source. This could mean that it is plugged directly into your router, directly into your pc or NAS or whatever. Think of it as an amp, in order to hear music, it has to be connected to a source (cd player etc). Once the first zone is wired, then all the rest can be wireless (assuming no range probelms etc).
Not just cheaper, but a response to a customer need - many customers prefer to use their existing amp and not to buy a second one. This is why the ZP80 will be introduced.Wexfordman said:The ZP80 is a cheaper version of the ZP100, in that the ZP80 does not have an amp, so you must use an external amp (your home cinema system for example) to listen to music. Might be a cheaper option for one of your zones. Personally, I would go for the ZP100's all the time though
I think that wireless router functionality is best left to a wireless router.Wexfordman said:Another feature with each ZP, you get 4 ethernet ports as well. So for example, my ZP in the living room is behind my telly, and next to my XBOX. the ZP connects wireless back to the first ZP, but because it has 4 ethernet ports on it, I simply hook up my xbox to it, and I am live, without having to run cable for it, or buy expensive adaptors for the xbox.
Can Roku do that mr Bond
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