Ceol Piccolo Teething Problems

[Twill]

I've recently acquired a Denon Piccolo to have as a dining room second system, with a little pair of Q Acoustics. I don't really have a first system any more, but that's short term hopefully!

Anyway, it's been hard to form a proper opinion of the Piccolo, because I've had a lot of teething problems. I'm beginning to agree with Chebby that Airplay is really all you need. That works flawlessly, and having never used it before, I'm a definite convert.

I'm having a couple of issues though, and I wondered if there were any other Piccolo owners on the forum who might know something.

Firstly, the Internet Radio feature: it doesn't seem to play any BBC stations. Does anyone happen to know if this is a terminal issue - some kind of rights conflict between the Beeb and the IR provider or something? I thought the Piccolo used Vtuner, and I thought that catered for BBC, but if there's no Beeb at all on the unit then really that's a bit of a deal breaker. It may just be a specific issue I need to resolve, but it does seem to cover BBC stations only.

The second regards the Music Server. I'm streaming from a QNAP NAS running Twonky. Apart from it being a little sluggish to respond - presumably due to wireless lag - it's pretty good, but I'm surprised to find that the remote control for the Piccolo doesn't seem to have any control over playback. I would have thought the Piccolo would have been able to play/pause and skip tracks on the NAS at the very least. Is it common place for streamers to not have playback control over NAS files, or should I be investigating my settings? The iOS remote app does facilitate skipping etc.

Any thoughts on any of this most welcome, thanks.

 

[chebby]

I'm beginning to agree with Chebby that Airplay is really all you need. That works flawlessly, and having never used it before, I'm a definite convert.

I love using AirPlay but I would never go as far as to say it's "all you need" (I am aware that I get great AirPlay performance - but some people don't - and I am also aware that not everyone likes to use anything related to Apple.)

BDs and DVDs and TV get a lot of play through the system (via optical) and I still use FM a lot and even an occasional CD.

I can't help with your built-in internet radio problem. My Marantz has no problem finding and storing BBC 'stations' so it's not something i've ever had to solve.

D&M technical support will help you though. 02890 279830

I find little point in using the built-in internet radio facility given that TuneIn Radio Pro app on the iPhone has a much better user interface and search and - unlike the built in VTuner - uses the highest bit rates including 320k where offered. However it's perfectly understandable you should want internet radio on your Denon to work as it should whether you use it or not.