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[newsposter]

One of the attraction of appliances like the Brennan B2 is their on-board interface screen.  Able to see and somewhat control right from the box without opening up a phone/tablet interface.

A certain number of people still like to look at and touch physical things.  An add-on interface with a decently sized VFD and a few buttons and a volume knob would be a nice add-on for either the ID or as a remote interface for HTPC setups.....  Alternatively, getting a (USB?) interface with these functions that lets people roll their own hardware would be workable.....

[mattlovell]

A certain number of people still like to look at and touch physical things. 

I'd love to have a small display showing the cover art and track info of what's playing.  I currently use an ODroid C2 as a renderer, via its HDMI output.  I could switch to an RPi, but I'd still like to use the HDMI output to the Yamaha AVR for audio playback.  I've researched non-HDMI displays for the RPi a little, but it's always seemed like more trouble than it was worth, plus I was unsure of the software support.  (Kodi is currently my software of choice on the renderer, and its support for both an HDMI display and some secondary display seems limited.)

Of course, I want to turn such a display off for actual movie watching.

If the Id had some form of display (for artwork, spectrum display, VU meters) and/or touchscreen, it would definitely scratch my itch for some more "feedback" while music listening.

Alternatively, I've pondered having a dedicated, fairly small tablet that's solely for controlling music.  JRiver's "Playing now" view provides nice information and cover art, but I'd have to look elsewhere for the spectrum or VU meter idea.  Ideally, this little tablet would sit on some attractive, angled, wireless charging dock, with the display always on if playback was active.  I've yet to see even a tablet that would fit the bill for this use, let alone accompanying software.

(I guess I'm nostalgic to see a bouncing spectrum/peak display like that my father had on his music system back in the 80's.  That doesn't seem to be in style any more.  I have seen some digital VU meters coming back, albeit on silly-expensive amplifier-only units.)

[Edit: typos]

[JimH]

I use a phone to control the Id,  or sometimes my notebook, so the display is there.

[BryanC]

Sounds like a fun hobby project with an RPi and the MCWS.