Just read about this today - a new, Sonos-like system by Yamaha for controlling and playing back music from various digital sources. Seems very similar to Sonos, but with a few key twists:
- Different controller (touchpad instead of wheel, black instead of white)
- Integration with Yamaha receivers and docks (control those devices over WiFi from anywhere)
- Ability to control other A/V components via IR
- Regular 802.11b/g wifi vs the proprietary mesh that Sonos does (this is probably a downside to the Yamaha approach)
- UPnP/DLNA support (which Sonos only does via a Rhapsody-emulation work around)
Also it seems (but this is via a demo) that the Yamaha has a nicer screen, I really don't like the washed out colors that Sonos offers.
But of course, the key issue is how well the UPnP/DLNA support really is, if this is good it makes for a lot better alternative as a MC platform for multiroom audio.
Of course my ideal would still be true integration into MC, so you cold have full two-way integration straight into the MC library and zone system rather than via the UPnP abstraction that limits functionality.
I won't be buying it but I sure will be following how the Yamaha system evolves and would love to hear if any MC user ever tries it.
Check it out at
http://www.yamaha.com/yec/musiccast2/products.asp
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Topic: YAMAHA MusicCAST2 - new multiroom control/playback hardware (Read 1307 times)