Squeezebox vs Roku Sound bridge under LMCE

[bulek]

Hi,

I'm considering of buying one of audio network players... Squeezebox is now sold under Logitech brand and it seems quite holding high price. It has great functionality, but....

I also see Roku Soundbridge as one of cheaper alternatives, but I wonder if there is any difference in functionality, particularly under LMCE ?

http://www.mp3-player.de/index.php?page=article&ID=3382
http://www.mp3-player.de/index.php?page=article&ID=4267

Also I wonder if any kind of menus for rest of house devices could be offered on those devices, so they can be used as "simple text Orbiters". Anyone tried to implement this ?

Thanks in advance,

regards,

Bulek.

[PeteK]

Slimserver support is built-in to LMCE.  This makes installation of squeezeboxes very easy, and they work well for playing music.  Support for messaging could be added, but with the relatively small display area, I wonder if the menuing would be too clunky to be useful.  I thought I read about a plugin to Sliserver that allowed you to stream to a Roku.  If so, that might be workable in LMCE, but personally I would advise you to stick with the squeezebox.

[1audio]

The RoKu works fine in LMCE except you will need to manually reconnect it when you reload the router. I think the Squeezebox sounds better but audiophilia should not necessarily drive these decisions. I use both. I'm not sure how much of an Orbiter the squeezebox would be, but I would like the reverse direction to work- if you make a change at the Squeezebox Slimserver knows but LMCE doesn't.

[PeteK]

1Audio--

So you can select music to stream to the Roku through the LMCE interface?

-PEte

[1audio]

I can send music to the Roku after its linked. It works pretty well.

[colinjones]

PeteK/1Audio - can you explain what Squeezebox does for you in an LMCE environment? Is it just an MP3 player? How does it interact?

[1audio]

Think of it as an audio playback zone. No PC or video required to play media. and it can be controlled locally. However the local control doesn't go back to Pluto yet.

[tschak909]

and even that's not bad.. just carry an orbiter with you, or have one in the same room.

-Thom

[colinjones]

So what you guys are saying is that it is effectively a networked (wireless?) MP3 player with built-in speakers/amp?

And presumably it has a basic interface that allows you to browse the LMCE library?

And you seem to be saying that you can "push" to it rather than "pull" from it, by way of using an Orbiter to tell the core to start it playing a particular audio file? (I really could have worded that sentence better

[PeteK]

You've got it exactly right except for the built-in speakers/amp.  They output to a stereo receiver/amplifier.

www.slimdevices.com
http://www.rokulabs.com/

[1audio]

And the squeezebox is considered one of the best sounding audio sources available when fed Flac or uncompressed audio. http://www.stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/906slim/

[billytwowilly]

Perhaps you guys can sort this out for me. I'm thinking about how I'm going to setup my linuxmce system and I don't see a place for these types of things in it. In the main rooms there will be tv's and mythboxes (as well as good stereo equipment in the main listening area). I don't know where  a squeezebox would fit because it doesn't come with built in speakers or anything. it looks like you still have to run wires to an amplifier and from there to speakers to make it work. I could see a use for something like this in a kitchen or some other place where you would want audio but not necessarily video, but for a purpose like that having the bulk of the amplifier and speakers that aren't attached seems to outweigh the benefit. Where and how are you guys using these things?

[1audio]

I have two- one in my shop for background music and internet radio connected to some computer speakers and a second in my living room (where video isn't allowed) connected through a DAC to a high end audio system. I'm planning, one day, to connect another to a background system for the back patio.