moxxey:

TripEnglish:

Now I'm on an 11" MB Air which, while some of the issues with the previous issues have been solved, just doesn't have enough horsepower to run my Lutron programming SW in parallels.

Trip, the 11" Air won't have enough power to run Parallels effectively. My 2.7Ghz i7 MBP can only just about run Parallels fast enough for my liking. Sadly you really need a quad core to throw a couple of cores at it, I've found.

You'd be better simply using your Air as a Windows 7 only machine, through Bootcamp! That would be very effective and would make a brilliant Windows 7 computer - very portable, reasonably fast.

You're not the first person to suggest that to me, but my concern is that I'm very hard, physically, on my laptops and the MBAir is just so precious! I feel like I need to make a clean break. Who knows I may experiment a little bit with that idea, but I'm a big fan of Richard Sapper's designs and so the ThinkPad, to me at least, is as much a design icon as an Air. I do wish I'd waited until they brought the backlit keyboard back to the Air family. Irritates me that it was gone for barely 6 months and now it's back. Hazards of early adoption.

Trip,

Forget design.  You need a Panasonic Toughbook!

http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/business-rugged-laptop-toughbook-T8.asp#/53

Any news on when the Masterlink/Beonet converter will be available?

 

Peter

So if I install Twonky on my iMac, what does the Encore 'see' and display on its screen? Will it display all the album art?

Also, does the Encore (or original Beosound 5 for that matter) have the facility to set up wake up and sleep alarms?

jonnyb:

So if I install Twonky on my iMac, what does the Encore 'see' and display on its screen? Will it display all the album art?

 

than you have the functionallity as displayed in the adds on the B&o site (this includes album arts; if Twonky sees the cover BS5(e) will see it also)

To access Twonky on your Mac <name_mac>.local:9000

 

there is no timer function on the BS5e

 

Attention: One can also use XBMC on a Mac or PC as a music server for the BS5 and BS5e

I must be odd!  I can't see any reason why I would want to stream something from my phone to my BS5 which already has my entire music collection on it.

 

However, being able to stream stuff from the BS5 to my phone which I can't fit my whole collection on, is cool!  That way I can isten on the A8s in the garden, or the BS8 in the kitchen.

 

Like I say I must be odd, or maybe I just don't buy into this thing where a system must do airplay, even if there's no real benefit to it, just because some other manufacturer has done it.

rednik:

Like I say I must be odd, or maybe I just don't buy into this thing where a system must do airplay, even if there's no real benefit to it, just because some other manufacturer has done it.

I've explained the benefits. 

One key advantage of supporting AirPlay is that you can use your iPhone or iPad (or computer) as a remote. You can then assign your music to stream to multiple AirPlay devices, without anything being connected. For example, the Zeppelin has, effectively, the Airport Express built in to it. This means you could walk from room to room, or from house to outdoors, listening to the same streamed track from multiple AirPlay devices. 

You can even use AirPlay to stream audio to your iPhone from your computer, exactly what you have asked for above!

AirPlay support enables a device to tap in to an iTunes library which, as people have said, doesn't support the UPnP standards, so can't be accessed from something like the Beosound 5, without another media server on top (Twonky or similar).

There are advantages. Just as you can't see them, doesn't mean they don't exist. And for a £2500 device, I expect it to support as many standards as possible....including "closed" licensed standards! Frankly, I don't care if some people don't want it on their system, if B&W can license it on a £400 device, I'm sure B&O could.

rednik:

 
I must be odd!  I can't see any reason why I would want to stream something from
my phone to my BS5 which already has my entire music collection on it.

I agree, regarding your own phone  -  but it might impress your guests, beeing able to play
music from THEIR phones wirelessly ...

 

 

moxxey:

One key advantage of supporting AirPlay is that you can use your iPhone or iPad (or computer) as a remote. You can then assign your music to stream to multiple AirPlay devices, without anything being connected. For example, the Zeppelin has, effectively, the Airport Express built in to it. This means you could walk from room to room, or from house to outdoors, listening to the same streamed track from multiple AirPlay devices. 

 

I can do all that with a BS5 and plugplayer.

So the only thing I can't do is stream directly from an itunes libary, which if I really wanted to requires me to spend about £100 on an airport express.

We will never agree, I just don't see the advantages in the same way you don't see why it shouldn't be built in.  I think the solution B&O have provided suits me down to the ground and gives flexibility for my family with a mix of Aplle, Android, and windows phones, to store our music on one shared library but with us each being able to easily navigate to our own music, and distribute it round the house and mobile devices.

The way our family works, we couldn't do that as easily if we were just tied to airplay.  If we do want airplay (my son does) we just add a couple of airports.

To me, a BS5, playing from the BM5 with a lovely BM5 interface in the lounge which I can control from any of the phones in the house(we never do, it takes longer to pick the phone up, unlock it, reply to a text, get distracted by an e-mail etc etc than just use the BeouSound) (plus, I find when I have a phone in my hand I just skip from one track to another because I can, rather than listening) is the perfect solution.  That's why I bought one.

I love MOTS.

Maybe one day i will be able to justify spending that much money to have it at home! For now, i will have to stick to using my computer hooked up to the B&O system i have, via a DAC.
Costs me nothing, but i do miss out on getting the most out of my entire collection...

MOTS is the only thing that really interests me in this heated thread.

 

I look forward to B&Os next attempt at making the digital media dream come true, they aren't there yet, but they are getting closer :)

I am not sure how often anyone would want to do this, but it is nice that it can be done.....I was able to stream music from my iPad to the Beosound 5 and then use the iPhone to control it.

Vienna:

rednik:

 
I must be odd!  I can't see any reason why I would want to stream something from
my phone to my BS5 which already has my entire music collection on it.

I agree, regarding your own phone  -  but it might impress your guests, beeing able to play
music from THEIR phones wirelessly ...

 

 

 

 

See, I still don't get it.

 

If thats's a requirement, then you add an airport express, give your guests your wifi password, allow them to join your home sharing network, and then listen to music from their phone with interuptions when they get a text, e-mail, callender reminder or phone call.  When you are done they can take their phone with them, but can't call anyone because they have drained the battery using wifi.

I understand what airplay does and why people like the "idea" of it.  I just can't think on many practical uses for it where ther isn't already a better solution (in the case above, an iPod dock plugged into the aux in, which will automatically puy the phone into airplane mode and charge it while it plays music.)

The user getting a phone call/calendar reminder/text doesn't stop the music from playing so it's not really an interruption.

Furthermore, the improved notification system in the soon-to-be-released iOS5 wouldn't even stop the user from browsing and listening to their music if they recieved an alert of any kind.

Having said that, I have a Beosound 9000 through which I use Airplay. I don't really use CDs anymore and I miss being able to just press play on the unit itself and instaneously start playing music. Selecting A-Aux on the Beo 4 and then opening up the Remote app is still more steps than I'd like.

For that reason the Encore is appealling. But £2500 appealing? I'm not yet decided...

Looking at the full length video, it seems to me that B&O's vision is that EVERY room will have an Encore in it.  I do love the Beosound 5 (even played with one today) and its successor the Encore, but I don't think I could justify 2++ units !

But I can see myself walking around the house with an iPad and selecting indiviual pieces of music in the rooms that way (assuming we can move away from Masterlink and its single source mode).

elephant:

Looking at the full length video, it seems to me that B&O's vision is that EVERY room will have an Encore in it.  I do love the Beosound 5 (even played with one today) and its successor the Encore, but I don't think I could justify 2++ units !

I was told a year or so ago that the Encore was originally designed as a basic version of the Beosound 5/Master that would enable other rooms to source your stored music, without the need for a masterlink connection. You could have one in multiple rooms etc etc.

For me, selecting music from my iPad is superb. I can take it to work, too, and access music from a remote location. Doesn't even need to be stored in the office! You can stream your audio across the net, particularly when iCloud is rolled out internationally. Store it in one location and make it available in another.

Everyone here in this thread is talking about the functionality of the Encore in a wifi setup and compare this with airplay, icloud etc. But nobody is interested in sound quality of these different ways of listening music, is it all the same?? I believe no! If I spent so much money in Beolabs, I want to have a superb sound quality when listening to my music collection.

Regards

Räuber

so buy a rosita and plug it on the A.Aux of your beosound or beocenter...

http://www.larosita.fr/rosita/?lang=en&id=accueil

If you actually think bno are a real audio brand you're fooling yourself , they admitted as much in the early 70's when they proclaimed Hifi is dead !

They've been a lifestyle brand ever since , sometimes they bring out world leading stunning stuff like the beosystem 8000 or the avant or the beolab 5 , sadly a lot of the time it's pretty but certainly not cutting edge a/v , a lot like this encore toy.

I still can't get over the fact that bs3 can't decode dts hd ma ( after all these years !! ) - so mch for the ultimate a/v sytem . I just bought a Yamaha 2067 amp that does anything that does and a whole lot more for a 1/3 of the price and probably sounds better too - oh and you can control it all with an ipod/ipad.. ( the app's free too )

Say what you like about Apple but at least they make an attempt at staying current.

I thought this new guy was going to sort them out..

Yes, I got to admit, Tue is certainly taking his time!

 

Kind of agree with Flappo, I do miss the excellent sound quality of my Bose Acoustimass AM5 speaker system with Technics separates - so reliable!

Sure the B&O's are pretty but they kind of remind me of high maintenance dumb models!

Paul Winn:

Yes, I got to admit, Tue is certainly taking his time!

 

You are joking right?  What did you expect him to do so quickly?

Flappo:

If you actually think bno are a real audio brand you're fooling yourself , they admitted as much in the early 70's when they proclaimed Hifi is dead !

They've been a lifestyle brand ever since , sometimes they bring out world leading stunning stuff like the beosystem 8000 or the avant or the beolab 5 , sadly a lot of the time it's pretty but certainly not cutting edge a/v , a lot like this encore toy.

I still can't get over the fact that bs3 can't decode dts hd ma ( after all these years !! ) - so mch for the ultimate a/v sytem . I just bought a Yamaha 2067 amp that does anything that does and a whole lot more for a 1/3 of the price and probably sounds better too - oh and you can control it all with an ipod/ipad.. ( the app's free too )

Say what you like about Apple but at least they make an attempt at staying current.

I thought this new guy was going to sort them out..

 

I have been following this thread with interest, I gave up on my bs3 supporting MA but would have probably purchased the Encore.

But ive been trying to find a post that represents what i feel and the one above just about sums it up.

Im a bit lost- what does the Encore actually do? other than being a wired box that displays what one is playing with MOTS  ( or not as the case may be) so you need external storage, and to get it to work in anything like an effective manner you need to download many applications- an even then it doesnt offer compatability which our company would expect to offer in a £500 microsystem- whats that all about- why couldnt B&O redesign this product so it would be an out of the box system ? instead its a cut  price version of the larger version with an equally high price- if this is where B&O is going even more stores will close.

rednik:

Paul Winn:

Yes, I got to admit, Tue is certainly taking his time!

 

 

You are joking right?  What did you expect him to do so quickly?

 

Well not allow any further underdeveloped products to the market would be a start surely?

moxxey:

I was told a year or so ago that the Encore was originally designed as a basic version of the Beosound 5/Master that would enable other rooms to source your stored music, without the need for a masterlink connection. You could have one in multiple rooms etc etc.

 

I have a BV8-40 and two BL9. I bought the BV to have a complete B&O setup I want to build piece by piece. I also wanted to buy two BL3 and a BS5E. My aim is to use BL9 and BL3 with the BV8 in a home cinema setting then BS5E and BL9 for music listenning (my music is in FLAC on my NAS). I am currently playing MP3 music with my AppleTV through BV and BL9 but I want to improve the sound quality...

So what about the new beonet (new ethernet based link) ? I hope B&O will release a beonet system module for my (one year old) BV8. If the BS5E stay a standalone system, it would really be a shame.

BOMF

 

355f:

rednik:

Paul Winn:

Yes, I got to admit, Tue is certainly taking his time!

You are joking right?  What did you expect him to do so quickly?

 

Well not allow any further underdeveloped products to the market would be a start surely?

I don't think Tue is taking his time.  He and his team is probably working some very long days on problems and the direction that B&O is going to take. He also has to answer to a board of directors.  Next month Tue will be announcing a new product category which is also about the same time other companies are doing the same.  Apple has been introducing new hardware and software and will release more products in the coming months.  Just trying to figure out what Apple will do is a challenge for them.  Here is an interesting article from PC World on the future of DVDs.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/236559/rip_dvd_six_reasons_its_time_for_discs_to_die.html

 

 

Raeuber:

Everyone here in this thread is talking about the functionality of the Encore in a wifi setup and compare this with airplay, icloud etc. But nobody is interested in sound quality of these different ways of listening music, is it all the same?? 

Who on earth said we are not interested? Of course we are or we wouldn't spend thousand of pounds on B&O kit. However, a lot of the quality is to do with how the content is ripped in the first place. Not how it's streamed or pushed around your house. That's generally secondary - pushing even the highest quality audio is easy within a 802.11n environment. 

Just because we talk about easy of use, it doesn't mean that we're talking about sacrificing quality. I don't see how these go hand in hand.