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[NickM]

My main MC uses a shared SnapServer drive to store APE's.   Is there a thin client hardware solution that can also read the APE's and maybe the playlists?  I know this would give limited functionality, but there are other members of the family that can only manage an On/Off & Next/Previous buttons...

nick

[toniann]

nmalcomson wrote, "... Is there a thin client hardware solution that can also read the APE's and maybe the playlists? ..."

IMHO, rather than spending $50 here and there for serial IR, or USB IR, or designer software, the direction of low cost maximum generic functionality hardware is the wifi capable Personal PC, running its version of Windows 2003.

Dell just had a $79 price for the Axim Xi, but that was probably a pricing error.  At these prices you could give one to each member of the family!  The family member goes into any room which has powered speakers and streams files from your server to the handheld, and then out the stereo out connection to the powered speakers.

Here are two links:

www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/software/pocket/9Series.aspx

www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/products/voicecommand/features.mspxbetsy123


Better than multi-zone!!

[NickM]

Sadly, the family members that I have would be more likely to use a WiFI PDA as a door stop...

I am looking for a box with a Play/Stop button ( large enough for fat fingers and wide enough apart so that they don't press both together ), a Next & Previous button and an internal display to show the track & album.

http://www.slimp3uk.com/ is the kind of thing I mean, but this doesn't play APE's and needs a back end server ( plus a remote control is too complicated - see above!).  

nick

[Sundog_AK]

To my knowledge there isn't any hardware solution (at least simple) for APE files.  You could do like suggested by the other poster and setup a PDA, but like you mentioned that may be too complex (plus costly). FWIW, I have tried the PDA route for both movies and music using Mainlobby frontend

http://www.webpromotion.com/cinemar/index.html

but that leaves a lot to be desired unless you use a tablet, primarily due to battery time..etc.  If you had a TV set nearby that could be used you could setup a simple front end on that and use a regular remote control using software like Hairstyle within MC 9 (free), Mainlobby (commercial software), or myHTPC (free) http://myhtpc.net/ to show the playlist and control buttons.  Unfortunately, these options require a computer connection so you may not want to do that.

You could also keep the APE files as your "source" library and convert to MP3 or WMA files for use on a hardware solution like you linked above but that isn't very elegant way either.  

Like everything with the Audio/Video interface to computers, nothing is simple.  

[NickM]

Hhhm, food for thought - maybe there's another way.

I found a couple of network MP3 players http://my-computer-discount.com/computer/ComputerHardware/MP3Audio/NetworkConnectedPlayers/  And these seem to read playlists too.

What do you think the chances of a SmartPlaylist in MC that codes on the fly to create a temporary store of MP3's?  Maybe using a cache limit to set the number of pre-coded files.  

That way, those of us with non-lossy storage can still enjoy a less complicated life.  Perhaps too, the SmartPlaylist/cache solution might be interesting for those people using iPods and having to convert each time they synchronise?

nick