Hardware Review: Rio Receiver 231
Props to Robo for testing the Windows stuff for me, and CowboyNeal for testing it with the Rio Central. They wrote much of this review. I just cleaned it up and took credit for it.
The Rio Reciever doesn't bother with ripping CDs or creating MP3 files of its own, it streams them from either a Rio Central, or a Windows box with their software installed. Either method allows you to setup playlists which are then accessed from the Rio Reciever.
Hooking speakers up to the receiver is easy. It has bare wire outputs for going directly to speakers, RCA outputs for use in a stereo rack, and a plain old headphone out that's suitable for most powered PC speakers. That's a lot of outputs, but it means that it's easy to use in a variety of situations, which is exactly what you want out of a device like this.
The reciever can reach its source through either an HPNA jack, or an ethernet jack. Hooking up the Rio Reciever via ethernet was fairly simple, provided a compatible server is already on the same subnet. The receiver finds an available IP address- although it seemed to ignore our DHCP server and actually took our routers IP once! This isn't a fatal flaw, but you may wanna double check when you set this thing up to make sure you don't get any surprises.
The interface on the front of the box takes a little getting used to. Menu items are selected from menus by a large dial, and confirmed by pushing the dial. (which also functions as a large button) While compact, I found that all too often I'd accidentally push the dial in while trying to turn it. Eventually I had to give up and stick with the remote control which didn't have that problem.
Unfortunately, while the interface isn't bad, it's not great either. Given the sheer number of MP3s available to play, navigating through a huge list with just a dial isn't fun. If you've put the time into make playlists using either the Windows software or the Rio Central, then this is much easier. Of course you can search search on artist, album, genre, etc., but it gets more and more difficult as your MP3 collection gets larger.
The screen on the receiver leaves a lot to be desired. Unless it's at eye level at a distance of six feet or less, don't bother trying to read it. Luckily once the player is rolling, there's little reason to bother looking at it. When first installing, I got a neck ache from trying to read it while it sat on my desk, but once up and running, I became oblivious to it.
The Win98 software is very bare bones, but does what it's supposed to: import music. After installing the software and turning on the receiver, I was able to import both MP3 and WMA files.
The functionality of the Rio Receiver does not change between the Rio Central and a Win98 Machine, so for those who already own a windows PC, they can possibly save themselves the $1500 cost of a Rio Central. The Rio Receiver is priced around $170, and a couple discount places have already had them priced around $100, making it very feasible for the home audio enthusiast who has a large music collection on his computer to pop these small boxes around your home or office, letting you share your music wherever you want it.
The SliMP3 is less polished, but is fed with a simple perl program that streams audio. The Audiotron is fed with any Samba compatible server. In other words, either device can work with a Linux box. The Rio currently can't, but it is the only one that doesn't require an external amp to hook it up to speakers, making it the best choice for simple multizone applications. And it's priced a hundred bucks less!
All in all, this is a pretty neat device. I wish it had more ways to stream MP3s to it, since buying the costly Rio Central or converting my MP3 server to Windows aren't things I'd consider at this point, but for a lot of users I imagine the Windows software will be enough. Unlike many MP3 units, this one is priced reasonably. The variety of input and output options mean this thing can work for people who just want to get their MP3s into a stereo component, as well as for people wanting to create a nice multizone audio system in their house without needing a second mortgage.
Re:$100 (Score:3, Informative)
linux server for rio receiver (Score:3, Informative)
Re:When do we get MP3 recorders? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:When do we get MP3 recorders? (Score:3, Informative)
www.archos.com [archos.com]
802.11 Bridge (Score:3, Informative)
Rio Receiver with Linux Server (Score:5, Informative)
Okay, this is probably the 10th time there's been a story about the Rio Receiver, and in each and every one someone like me stands up to shout:
There are open-source Linux servers for the Rio Receiver!!!
Check out a simple perl/apache one by Jeff Mock at www.mock.com/receiver [mock.com],
a more complex server that's built on java, jetty, struts, and the like at http://sourceforge.net/projects/jreceiver/ [sourceforge.net]. And be sure to check out the Rio discussion forum at http://rioreceiver.comms.net [comms.net].
Sonic Blue engineers frequent that message board, and there's lots of open-source hacking going on, including line-out kernel hacks, integrated web and vnc servers, and the like.
The Competition (Score:5, Informative)
There's, by my count:
Rio Central & Rio Receiver (www.sonicblue.com)
Audiotron(http://www.turtleb
Lansonic Digital Audio Server (www.lansonic.com)
Request Audio Requester (www.request.com)
SliMP3 (www.slimdevices.com)
Stereo-Link (www.stereo-link.com)
Yamaha CAVIT (http://www.yamaha.com/yec/cavit/)
No one has mentioned Request, Lansonic or Yamaha products, to my knowledge. Nor has anyone compared the sound quality output to that of, say, the SoundBlaster Audigy.
This is clearly a burgeoning category, but I for one could use some help separating the winners from the losers.
WMA problems (Score:5, Informative)
(24311)Selected WMA tracks aren't being added to the Receiver.
WMA files can have built in file protection. This allows distributors to add features such as expiration dates to the downloaded files. If one or more WMA tracks are not added correctly when you Import Music, this is most likely caused by a limitation of the file. Try playing the files in question on the server, with any normal WMA music player. If the track will not play on the server computer. Contact the distributor for more information on playing these files. If you have playback permissions or are using an unprotected WMA file, you should not experience this issue.
Interesting that they have to explain this to their users. Here DRM acting "normally" is perceived as a problem by users and techsupport. After users experience this once, will they switch from MP3 to WMA? I don't think so.
Broadcast on FM instead (Score:5, Informative)
Ramsey Electronics [ramseyelectronics.com] has an FM transmitter which plugs in nicely to your computer. Then, any radio around the house can pick up your MP3s, including the main radio, and the headphone radio you have when you mow the lawn.
The only catch is that this transmitter is sold as a kit of parts, and you must solder the thing together. This makes it a "homebrew" radio which is legal to transmit onto the FM band. It works great around the house.
Rio Receiver works GREAT from Linux! (Score:5, Informative)
With a little work, you can get it to boot from a Linux server and mount its filesystem over NFS. (This is what the Windows software does, more or less.) The entire filesystem is in the "receiver.arf" tar file that comes with the software.
The most well-known Rio server hack for Linux was put together by Jeff Mock and available from his webpage [mock.com]. If you're reasonably familiar with setting up remote-booting machines, the Rio should not be much of a challenge. Jeff wrote a small perl daemon to handle the unique boot sequence for the Rio, and a larger set of scripts to serve up the MP3 files.
After using Jeff's fine server for a while, I found I wanted something with better MP3 management and playlist support. That's when I found the JReceiver Project [sourceforge.net]. This software rocks! It's a royal PITA to set up if you're not a Java programmer, but it does quite a bit. It's a full SQL front-end for your MP3 content, so playlists can be dynamic from SQL expressions ("I want all new ROCK songs added in the last 14 DAYS that are not by CREED"). And of course, it serves the Rio directly. It will also handle the booting if you want to boot Rio from the same Linux machine that runs JReceiver.
Last, Frank van Gestel put together a terrific modification to the Rio Receiver filesystem that adds a local http server to the receiver box itself. This serves up the exact front-panel display to a web browser, and you can operate all the controls remotely over the network. Now you can get a clear view of the Receiver screen without being right in front of it. Further, it will let you control the line-level volume output as well as the speaker output (a shortcoming of the original kernel). You can get the patch files in this thread [comms.net]
Lots of intelligent discussion on the Rio boxes at rioreceiver.comms.net [comms.net]
All in all, this is the best networked MP3 player going for under $100. Audiotron is nice, but this is cheaper and far more hackable. Runs Linux, boots from Linux, built-in ethernet, and has no fan or hard drive.
The only disappointment is that it has no digital audio (SPDIF) output. No coax, no optical.. line level only. Ah well, MP3's aren't exactly hifi anyway.
Enjoy!
Re:Give us OGG support. OK, you got it! (Score:2, Informative)
If you don't like that, you can always hack the Rio Receiver software yourself to add an OGG player. The whole mounted filesystem is there for you to play with. You can replace the whole player with Ogg Vorbis if you like.
Re:The Competition (Score:4, Informative)
I'll bite. Send me hardware, I'll post the complete review within 30 days of receiving all the components.
Rio Central & Rio Receiver
Discussed here, with plenty of misunderstandings. From what I've seen, it's the best so far.
Audiotron
Cool formfactor (more component-like). But all the playlist / music management happens on the local unit, not on the server. So whenever you update stuff, it's gotta re-parse your folders, rather than simply saying "show me all the artists you have," which is what the Rio does. Plus, if you lose power (like if you unplug it to move it around), it's got to re-scan everything, too.
Lansonic Digital Audio Server
Interesting, looks much cooler, but damn is it expensive. $700 for the DISKLESS unit? (the closest competitor to the Rio). On the other hand, the server's a little cheaper. The 950-series looks like it's trying to be the front-end for an in-wall multi-zone system, which actually is something I need personally (and haven't yet figured out how I'll do it). Looks like a high-end audience, but I'm not convinced that it's any better in quality (their space usage estimates assume 128kbps compression rates).
Request Audio Requester
I think I've seen this page before. Like Lansonic, I think they're targeting the built-in systems, so they're competing with multi-kilobuck installations and are probably priced accordingly. Seems to include line-in inputs to "rip" LPs and tapes.
SliMP3
Ubercool device. About the size of a SIMM, does what the Rio Receiver does, mostly. Hardware decompression, if I recall, so no chance (as opposed to slim chance) of ogg or other codec support. No amplifier. Designed and built by geeks, for geeks. When they upgrade it to have an optional on-screen display, downloadable menus, and MPEG-2 video support, I'll buy four of 'em for an in-house a/v system.
Stereo-Link
Eh. Takes music played from a regular PC, only via USB, and, er, outputs line out audio. Not clear if the decompression is happening in the box or in the computer. This doesn't really belong in this discussion...
Yamaha CAVIT
Eh. Looks like the same sort of thing as Stereo-Link, but maybe with an integrated amp? Again, not even the same category of product as the first five.
So, to sum up, we've got Rio (server and client, proprietary but semi-opened protocols), Audiotron (client only, uses SMB), Lansonic and Request (high-end, expensive, very different target audience, probably closed protocols), and SliMP3 (receiver only, linux server, open everything).
Recommendations:
If you want something that looks at home in your stereo rack, and don't mind putting everything on a windows share (even on a linux box), use Audiotron.
If you've got a linux server and want a really cool, geeky, high-tech sort of thing with a display you can read from Mars, get the SliMP3.
If you want a more capable receiver, windows and linux server support, and an optional stereo-component-looking server, choose Rio, especially if you can find more of the $100 units (TigerDirect is apparently sold out now).
ps -- I've got three Rios. Love 'em.
Re:Technology destroying sound quality ? (Score:3, Informative)
CDs cover a frequency range of DC (theoretically) to 22.05kHz. Humans on average can hear 20Hz-20kHz when they're young, and the high frequencies drop off as we age. Notice that that's an average. Some people can hear 22kHz frequencies, which strains CD quality to the breaking point. Then there's resolution--16 bits is again right on the border.
The point of these numbers though, is this: Any lossy compression on a CD-quality file will result in audible losses. If you had a 40-bit 100kHz frequency response on CDs, then you could grind them down into (large!) MP3s without worrying about losing detectible information. As it is, we're chopping away at a format (CD audio) that can't afford any chopping away, and in a few years when CDs go the way of the dinosaur, is their replacement going to be worse? It sure looks like it from my end.
Re:$100 (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Technology destroying sound quality ? (Score:4, Informative)
http://flac.sourceforge.net/
Porting the flac player to the Rio Receiver should be fairly straightforward, since there is a linux player and the Rio Receiver runs Linux. I'd be suprised if someone hasn't done it already.
Re:The Competition (Score:3, Informative)
Ubercool device. About the size of a SIMM,
It's 8.5" wide, 2.5" tall, and 2" deep. Dunno what kind of SIMMs you're using.
does what the Rio Receiver does, mostly
Actually does a lot more:
- clock display
- groovy menu scrolling
- search capability
- way faster UI
- easier setup
- hackable
- proxies to shoutcast, icecast, http, and live365 sources
Hardware decompression, if I recall, so no chance (as opposed to slim chance) of ogg or other codec support.
True, but we can transcode ogg to high bit rate MPEG. Yes, I know it's a hack, but it sounds just as good as the original ogg with HQ VBR.
No amplifier.
That's a feature! What use is a built-in 10W/channel amp, honestly?
Designed and built by geeks, for geeks.
Indeed. Also designed by Slashdot readers, for Slashdot readers.
When they upgrade it to have an optional on-screen display, downloadable menus, and MPEG-2 video support, I'll buy four of 'em for an in-house a/v system.
Video is a different story altogether. *way* more bandwidth, needs a powerful PVR-like head-end to serve the thin clients - very exepensive / limited market. We might do a video product in the not-too-distant future, but it won't look much like the SliMP3.
You can do that with a Rio Receiver (Score:2, Informative)
Actually yes. It's the Rio Receiver. I've set mine up to do this in the space of an hour before. It NFS boots (once you handle the UPnP/SSDP protocols) and all you have to do is get it to automatically run netcat or something and pipe it to /dev/dsp.
It's small, there's no fan in it, it's got ethernet, and it has a good quality built-in 10 watt amplifier. No digital output unfortunately.
Re:I've owned both the RIO and the Audiotron (Score:2, Informative)
The fact that you need to re-scan the entire library after a power cycle or to re-arrange tracks is horrible (it seems to clock in around somewhere around 1 minute per 1000 tracks). Navigating a large collection is almost impossible on the small screen. Creating playlists does help, but that adds even more overhead. I've also noticed frequent lockups while quickly surfing through tracks.
Despite all my pains to archive/organize my music, I've ended up switching both units to Streaming Radio Mode only, which works very well.