This might look like a silly question, but if the BeoSound 5 can get an extra CD-ripping box from B&O, what would make it impossible on the Encore? Has anyone tried connecting a USB DVD drive to the BS5 family, does anything happen? The idea of course would be to play CDs without necessarily ripping them.

I managed to connect a USB DVD drive to a BeoMaster 5, and with a keyboard and mouse connected, using the BS5 as the screen managed to set the system up so that when a disc was detected by windows it would automatically import whatever disc it was into Windows Media Player. Once this was setup it would run in the background whilst you used the BS5 as normal, and the new CD's would just appear in the menu. I have pictures of the process somewhere...

This would be a completely different problem on the Encore, which doesn't run on Windows XPE.

AFAIK (I read it here somewhere) the Encore is using Linux - it should have no problems recognizing any drive you connect to it on the hardware level, but that won't get you anywhere if you can't access it. You won't be able to run any extra programs or do anything else B&O didn't want you to do. (unless it is actually some kind of an embedded PC and it's possible to boot it with a rescue image off an USB stick and start hacking... )

Anyway, IMHO this is all quite academic. Maybe some hardcore BM5/BS5 user might get by without any computers to do the ripping, but I don't think an Encore would find its way into such a household!