Well, That Was Easy!

[ESP2009]

So, the box of goodies from Amazon arrived on my desk today. I could barely restrain myself from unpacking the box and doing the setup process there and then.

Eventually, the hours dragged by and, after we had eaten, I was able to unpack my new bargainous Squeezebox Touch and start connecting it up. Hats off to Logitech: it was a painless and intuitive process that took ten minutes at the very outside. It quickly found what it needed on the home network and we were away - linked to the Uniti via a good pair of RCA cables.

I was a bit worried when I first loaded an album off the Synology NAS because the SBT recognised three copies of each track, but it's nifty enough to recognise that it only needs to actually play one! Very easy to use and sounds good too. Yes, thus far I am very pleased with my purchase. I now need to explore the various options.

What I would really like to be able to do is display and control via the TV or my laptop. Nope, I don't possess an iPad or "have an app for that"!

 

[Anonymous]

I dont have a squeezebox but after a few mins searching there is a program called squeezeplay looikng a other forums alot of people are using it and give it good reviews.

download from link below

http://downloads.slimdevices.com/nightly/index.php?ver=7.8

I downloaded SqueezePlay: Windows Executable Installer to check it there is no viruses and it is freeware make sure you allow jive some firewalls try to block it.

you will also need to download logitech media server link below

http://www.mysqueezebox.com/download

hope this helps , Daryl

 

[ESP2009]

Thanks Daryl, I have Logitech's s/w loaded on my NAS and pretty soon figured things out for playing the music collection from the laptop. It took me a lot longer to figure out why the Spotify app from Logitech was not working fully (I couldn't search the internet-based artists, even though the What's New and Top Picks worked). I think that because I had downloaded and installed the s/w prior to the SBT arriving had something to do with it - somehow. I uninstalled the Spotify app (a single click) and then reinstalled (another click). Voila! Suddenly I could search and play. Excellent.

Now, if I can just link the TV to the SBT and get the display at 40" rather than 4" we're really talking!

Even the Better Half thinks it's quite nifty and is well impressed that we have a digital clock for £140 in the living room!

 

[GSB]

Hi ESP,great to read about your new purchase...i'm looking at ordering a synology ds212j later next month

Can i ask you if when adding music does it except flac straight from the pc?

Also i believe that i would be able to link straight to my avr,so not needing a squeezbok,is that correct?

cheers

Graham

 

[hammill]

I got mine on Friday. It struggled a bit using the wireless connection so I had to reset the device to get it to automatically use the ethernet connection and last FM requires a subscription (although I can use it for free on the PC) but otherwise I am happy. ESP2009, do you find using the pc to control the server running on the Synology is responsive? I am toying with the DS212j or DS212 which is a higher spec.

 

[ESP2009]

Hi ESP,great to read about your new purchase...i'm looking at ordering a synology ds212j later next month

Can i ask you if when adding music does it except flac straight from the pc?

Also i believe that i would be able to link straight to my avr,so not needing a squeezbok,is that correct?

cheers

Graham

Graham, I can't say for sure about accepting flac straight from the PC, as it depends on how you mean. From a personal standpoint, to-date all I have done is rip my music collection to flac format using Winamp (before the NAS arrived on the scene) and then allow the NAS to 'see' the relevant music folders on my laptop. The Synology, at present, can read these folders on my laptop over the network but I also backed up all the music onto the NAS. The NAS now access to both (hence, I believe, the duplications of tracks I get...and something I will have to fix. The Synology has absolutely no problem viewing and playing flac files.

Regarding your second question: yes, I believe you are correct. My Uniti very quickly detected the Synology (and laptop) over the network and can access files directly from either. The disadvantage of the Uniti is that the display is not as user friendly as it could be, which is why I opted to add the SBT into the equation - far more spouse-friendly.

Another thing to bear in mind is that the Synology Audio Station s/w, although good, lacks the sophistication of other music-streaming s/w in some areas. For one thing, it does NOT currently support gapless play-back.

If you go ahead with the Synology, there is a scary amount of stuff it can do. The utilities and facilities are far beyond what I realised were available or, indeed, require. But the potential it has is vast.

I hope this helps.

 

[ESP2009]

I got mine on Friday. It struggled a bit using the wireless connection so I had to reset the device to get it to automatically use the ethernet connection and last FM requires a subscription (although I can use it for free on the PC) but otherwise I am happy. ESP2009, do you find using the pc to control the server running on the Synology is responsive? I am toying with the DS212j or DS212 which is a higher spec.

The DS212j is very responsive over ethernet. The only thing to watch out for is time-out settings. I have stumbled with those a couple of times and probably need to look into those. I did note that some reviews of the WD Green HDD models, if fitted, were a bit negative due to speed issues, but don't believe I have yet come across anything like that. My Synology is in a separate room and that avoids noise issues. Oh, and I may have mentioned before: beware of Zonealarm if you have it - it may cause issues with Synology Assistant when trying to set everything up and connect via the LAN. I say 'may' because my mate who also has Zonealarm security had no problems whatsoever from his laptop despite that everything apart from the application/program control was identical as far as we could tell. Hmmmmm :?

Still early days yet, but looking good for the most part. I just need to sit down with a bit of time to fine-tune.

 

[hammill]

I got mine on Friday. It struggled a bit using the wireless connection so I had to reset the device to get it to automatically use the ethernet connection and last FM requires a subscription (although I can use it for free on the PC) but otherwise I am happy. ESP2009, do you find using the pc to control the server running on the Synology is responsive? I am toying with the DS212j or DS212 which is a higher spec.

The DS212j is very responsive over ethernet. The only thing to watch out for is time-out settings. I have stumbled with those a couple of times and probably need to look into those. I did note that some reviews of the WD Green HDD models, if fitted, were a bit negative due to speed issues, but don't believe I have yet come across anything like that. My Synology is in a separate room and that avoids noise issues. Oh, and I may have mentioned before: beware of Zonealarm if you have it - it may cause issues with Synology Assistant when trying to set everything up and connect via the LAN. I say 'may' because my mate who also has Zonealarm security had no problems whatsoever from his laptop despite that everything apart from the application/program control was identical as far as we could tell. Hmmmmm :?

Still early days yet, but looking good for the most part. I just need to sit down with a bit of time to fine-tune.

Many thanks.

 

[GSB]

Thanks for your reply ESP,so for playing a live album or where tracks blend i'd be best looking for something else would you say?

The reason i mentioned flac is becouse i ripped some cd's with dbpoweramp...but wmp couldn't play them.I'm slowly trying to build an understanding of what is required and why...but for me it's hard becouse at the moment it's all virtual,nothing solid infront of me to play with,so to speak :shifty:

 

[ESP2009]

Thanks for your reply ESP,so for playing a live album or where tracks blend i'd be best looking for something else would you say?

The reason i mentioned flac is becouse i ripped some cd's with dbpoweramp...but wmp couldn't play them.I'm slowly trying to build an understanding of what is required and why...but for me it's hard becouse at the moment it's all virtual,nothing solid infront of me to play with,so to speak :shifty:

You might want to rely on those more experienced than myself here. However, one way to look at it is that the NAS is, at its most basic, nothing more than storage device. Synology have added value with a whole raft of features. But it's up to you to decide whether you want to use their s/w products or someone else's. Even Synology provide a list of 3rd party downloads that are compatible with their devices. So you can either load something directly onto the NAS or simply have your music player on your laptop/PC/Mac or whatever access music from the NAS in its pure, storage only role.

I hope that makes sense?

I have heard of dbpoweramp (with various recommendations) and now know Winamp (installed on my laptop) which is maybe a bit less straightforward to master than I first expected, but happily quite able to play the music I have stored on the Synology...and do it gapless. Of course, that then means I have to link my laptop to the hi-fi, rather than by a streamer.

Hopefully others can give you some decent advice.

 

[GSB]

ESP....just read that you have to add hard drives to the synology......this correct?

 

[The_Lhc]

ESP....just read that you have to add hard drives to the synology......this correct?

Most NAS's will be available empty or pre-loaded, it's generally cheaper to buy the NAS and drives separately but you can buy them preloaded for convenience if you wish (I would, if I were you).

 

[ESP2009]

ESP....just read that you have to add hard drives to the synology......this correct?

Oh yus! Depending on where you purchase the DS212j it will come either pre-loaded with xTb of hard drives, or you buy your own and install. It has two drive bays (capable of holding either full-size or smaller HDDs). You choose your configuration and level of plug 'n' play.

I bought the Drivestation without drives pre-loaded. I chose 2x 2Tb Western Digital drives and installed them myself - easy if you have any computer support experience or confidence with IT-related stuff. I got more bangs for my buck that way. I certainly did see suppliers selling the Synology with drives pre-installed, but preferred to save a few quid and know what drives were being installed.

If you don't feel confident about setting up your own configuration, pay extra for a pre-loaded version of the DS212j, or look around for a different model that has the HDD built in already. Some folk swear by the versions that include a CD/DVD slot for even more convenient ripping.

 

[GSB]

Just looked on 'mazon and some alarming reviews as to pre installed drives,this guy claimed that they wern't synology compatable,(synology tech support confirmed this).

Price seems ok to me,but trying to find a reputable retailer might be a problem!

 

[GSB]

Just looked on 'mazon and some alarming reviews as to pre installed drives,this guy claimed that they wern't synology compatable,(synology tech support confirmed this).

Price seems ok to me,but trying to find a reputable retailer might be a problem!

 

[Overdose]

What I would really like to be able to do is display and control via the TV or my laptop. Nope, I don't possess an iPad or "have an app for that"!

Try this..

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/22/logitech-launches-squeezebox-controller-app-for-android-phones-a/

with this...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NATPC-M009S-Google-Android-Tablet/dp/B004RAN7VI

or alternatively try this....

http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?84555-controlling-a-Touch-with-a-wireless-laptop

I don't have a Squeezebox, so haven't tried any of it. Good luck.

 

[ESP2009]

Thanks OD - might be an interesting start. So far, I'm using Logitech's own s/w loaded on the NAS via laptop. I suppose I could link the laptop to TV for big screen display of my music selections.

Of course, next step is anetworked TV.