Community Newsletter: Q&A: 9/22/06 Solution for sending MP3s through wireless network to stereo

So frustrating!

In reply to: 9/22/06 Solution for sending MP3s through wireless network to stereo by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

Boy, George's great question had me thinking about my own search for a solution last year and how frustrated I was. Reading all the answers just brings back that same frustration:
1. DMRs are overkill for those of us who are satisfied to push content to our stereos. Also, they have their own content limitations. And I would prefer for someone to tell me how to hack the solution instead of paying for it.
2. Sure, nothing beats the fidelity of a wired system, but many of us have a laptop as a primary machine and like to roam around. Besides, with a laptop, you are less likely to need a DRM's remote, since the computer is everywhere with you anyway. Also, some of us have spouses who aren't keen to have a hot, ugly computer messing up the nice wood furniture inside which the stereo resides.
3. I haven't heard a good wireless speaker yet. Fine for listening to your computer beep, but not for music. There's a reason people want to push data to their stereo receiver and speakers. They invested in hardware that specializes in amplifying and playing sound with clarity, and they want to use it for that purpose. Who wants to invest $50 on a bad set of wireless speakers while their existing $1000+ stereo system sits idle? The question is how to get data to the stereo wirelessly with minimal loss. Like keeping it digital as far down the chain as possible.
4. FM? Pahleez. I live in a city, not in Greenland. Also, I'm not an audiophile (not pushing for the $2000+ solution), but it would be good to preserve SOME sound quality.
5. The Xbox thing sounds intruiging, and is almost a hack, since it's used. I may try this out.
6. Aarrghhh! Why is it that the Mac guys always figure out the basic need without making it overly complicated. Sure, Airport Express holds you hostage to itunes, which limits a bunch of functionality, but at least they get it.


Ultimately, I bought an Airport Express about 6 mo. ago and it works for mp3s, although I hate being married to itunes. I keep my music library current in another app, since that's what I use to sync with my portable mp3 player. I imagine most people who have mp3s on their computer occassionally do that, right? Darn you mac, you're not going to get me to buy an ipod just to keep me compatible with you!

Also, what if I want to stream a program or music from a website? Once your stereo is connected somehow on your wifi network, XP should have a way of recognizing it as your "external speaker", just as if you had plugged in a USB speaker. That way any application could send audio to it. I shouldn't have to rely on itunes.

The post about the Rogue Aomeba Airfoil is very interesting, I'm anxious to check it out to see if it works for web streaming content.

What I would have really like to have seen is
- an airport express-ish device
- with a digital output to the stero instead of RCA
- not married to one app like itunes
- selectable as an external speaker by XP (can't someone write a software hack for this for us illiterates?!)

Is that what Xbox essentially functions as?