I currently stream Tidal via Airplay to my AV receiver. The more I use Tidal, the more I like it, but I am conscious that using the ethernet cable rather than Airplay unleashes the full force of my 50mbps internet connection and reduces the likelihood of wifi dropouts, particularly when my network is also doing other things.
If I was a Spotify user, the answer would be simple: an Amazon Fire TV; ethernet cable into my router one end, optical out into my AV receiver the other end, all controlled by my ipad app. The End.
But streaming Tidal through ethernet doesn't seem to have such cheap solutions (less than £100).
So far my choices seem limited to Sonos Connect, Bluesound Node or other hardware that bundles Tidal with it (like Oppo Bluray players for example).
I was thinking how nice, cheap and accessible it would be if Tidal offered their service through a small cheap box with an optical out, like the Amazon Fire TV (unlikely I suppose now Amazon have their own streaming service, although that argument seems shallow considering this little box DOES offer Spotify Connect) or the Roku 3 I already have.
Why the fuss?
It just strikes me that the TV based ethernet streamers mentioned above are cheap and offer 1080p HD pictures from numerous sources for about £70. But audio-only alternatives cost over £300. Ultimately I'll probably end-up buying a Bluesound or something like that to enable ethernet streaming, but I do suspect the presence of snake-oil type overcharging compared to a Roku which offers more for considerably less.
Rant over. But if you hear of Tidal coming out on a small cheap box anytime soon, please do let us know.
If I was a Spotify user, the answer would be simple: an Amazon Fire TV; ethernet cable into my router one end, optical out into my AV receiver the other end, all controlled by my ipad app. The End.
But streaming Tidal through ethernet doesn't seem to have such cheap solutions (less than £100).
So far my choices seem limited to Sonos Connect, Bluesound Node or other hardware that bundles Tidal with it (like Oppo Bluray players for example).
I was thinking how nice, cheap and accessible it would be if Tidal offered their service through a small cheap box with an optical out, like the Amazon Fire TV (unlikely I suppose now Amazon have their own streaming service, although that argument seems shallow considering this little box DOES offer Spotify Connect) or the Roku 3 I already have.
Why the fuss?
It just strikes me that the TV based ethernet streamers mentioned above are cheap and offer 1080p HD pictures from numerous sources for about £70. But audio-only alternatives cost over £300. Ultimately I'll probably end-up buying a Bluesound or something like that to enable ethernet streaming, but I do suspect the presence of snake-oil type overcharging compared to a Roku which offers more for considerably less.
Rant over. But if you hear of Tidal coming out on a small cheap box anytime soon, please do let us know.